"b. 


x  <a»  moment  # 

*»  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *# 


Presented    by       S^n^  £7\  LAVV\  O  Y~ 

BR    872    .L8 

Luzzi,  Giovanni,  b.  1856. 
The  struggle  for  Christian 
truth  in  Italy 


The 


MAR   7  191! 


Struggle  for  Christian 
Truth  in  Italy 


BY 


GIOVANNI  LUZZI,  D.D. 

Professor  in  the  Waldensian  Theological 
Seminary,  Florence 


New  York 


Chicago 


Toronto 


Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


London 


Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1913,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  N.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    100  Princes   Street 


MY    WIFE 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

FIVE  out  of  the  seven  chapters  of  this  book 
were  first  delivered  at  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  as  the  Students'  Lectures 
on  Missions  for  1912-13,  and  were  repeated  at 
other  Universities  and  Seminaries  in  the  United 
States.  To  these  five  lectures  two  new  chapters 
have  been  added,  as  well  as  all  the  notes,  and  a 
great  deal  of  supplementary  matter  beside. 

For  all  that  concerns  the  origin  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  Rome  and  the  earliest  protests  against 
the  ever-growing  pretensions  of  the  Papacy 
(Chap.  I)  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  the  works  of 
my  old  professor,  afterwards  my  affectionate  col- 
league, Dr.  E.  Comba.1  Also  in  resuming  the  early 
history  of  the  Israel  of  the  Alps  (Chap.  IV)  I  have 
followed  Professor  E.  Comba  and  Professor  J. 
Jalla,  the  best  authorities  on  the  history  of  the 
Waldenses.  To  what  they  have  said  nothing  new 
can  be  added  until  some  fresh  document  be  dis- 
covered. 

1  Introduzione  alia  Storia  della  Riforma  in  Italia.  I  nostri 
Protestanti. 


8  Prefatory  Note 

To  some  it  may  appear  that  I  have  been  too 
lavish  in  my  use  of  quotations.  I  would  say  that 
this  is  due  to  a  deliberate  purpose.  Writers  upon 
religious  history  in  particular  are  in  danger  of 
being  thought  too  subjective,  or  even  biassed  in 
their  statement  of  fact  by  their  own  cherished 
convictions.  I  know  no  better  way  of  guarding 
against  such  a  suspicion  than  by  citing  as  fully 
as  is  possible  the  statements  made  about  these 
same  facts  by  other  men  who  hold  other  faiths  or 
none  at  all. 

Finally,  I  have  to  express  my  deepest  gratitude 
to  my  most  faithful  co-worker  for  the  last  twenty- 
three  years  of  my  life  (to  whom  this  book  is  in- 
scribed), and  to  Mr.  William  P.  Henderson  for  so 
effectually  polishing,  here  and  there,  my  English. 
My  thanks  are  also  due  to  my  publishers 
for  so  courageously  undertaking  the  issue 
of  a  book  such  as  this,  written  by  one  who  is 
an  ardent  admirer  of  America  but  till  now  almost 
completely  unknown  on  this  side  of  the  ocean. 

G.  LUZZI, 

New  York,  Palazzo  Salviati, 

January  1,  1913 

51,  Via  de'  Serragh, 
Florence,  Italy. 


CONTENTS 

L  THE  DAWN  OF  CHRISTIANITY  IN  ROME 
—  THE  WRONG  PATH  —  FIRST  CRIES 
OF  ALARM 15 

The  Christian  Church  in  Rome  —  Her  origin  —  Her 
early  history  —  Her  early  organisation  —  The  birth  of 
Papacy  —  The  gerrn-theory  —  First  cries  of  protest  — 
The  Tu  es  Petrus  —  Conflicts  in  the  third  century  — 
Hermas  —  Hippolytus  —  Schisms  —  Heresies  —  The  age 
of  Constantine  —  From  Gregory  I  to  Charlemagne  — 
From  Charlemagne  to  Gregory  VII  —  From  Gregory 
VII  to  Boniface  VIII  —  Voices  of  protest  —  Jovinian 

—  Vigilantius  —  Claudius  of  Turin  —  Ratherius  of 
Verona  —  Mediaeval  reactions  —  Arnold  of  Brescia  — 
The  Catharists  —  The  Waldenses  —  The  monastic  move- 
ment —  St.  Dominic  and  St.  Francis  —  Dante  Alighieri 

—  Francesco  Petrarca  —  Giovanni  Boccaccio. 

II.    THE    PROTESTANT   REVOLUTION   AND 

ITS  ECHO   IN  ITALY         ....     53 

Italian  Renaissance  —  Attempts  at  reformation  of  the 
Church  made  by  the  Church  herself  —  The  three  Reform 
Councils  —  The  sixteenth  century  in  Italy  —  The  "Prot- 
estant revolution "  in  Germany  —  Causes  that  prepared 
the  Reform  movement  in  Italy  —  Causes  that  brought  it 
about  —  Extension  of  the  Reform  movement  in  Italy  — 
Locarno  —  Istria  —  Venice  —  Padova  —  Vicenza  — 
Treviso  —  Milan  —  Ferrara  —  Modena  —  Florence  — 
Siena  —  Lucca  —  Viterbo  —  Rome  —  Naples  —  How 
the  Reform  movement  spread  in  all  social  classes  —  The 
movement  doomed  to  be  a  failure  —  The  reasons  of  the 
failure  —  Conclusion. 

9 


10  Contents 

III.  THE    DRAMATIC    HISTORY    OF    THE 

BIBLE  IN  ITALY 105 

The  first  Latin  translation  of  the  Bible  —  The  Vulgate 
of  St.  Jerome  —  The  Council  of  Trent  and  the  Vulgate 

—  The  Sistine  and  Clementine  editions  of  the  Vulgate  — 
The  first  Italian  versions  of  the  Bible  —  The  Italian 
translations  by  Giovanni  Diodati  and  Monsignor  Martini 

—  Endeavours  to  provide  Italy  with  other  versions  of  the 
New  Testament  and  portions  of  the  Old  since  Diodati's 
and  Martini's  time  —  The  Pious  Society  of  St.  Jerome 
for  the  spread  of  the  Holy  Gospels  —  The  Fides  et  Amor 
Society  —  One  of  Italy's  glories  which  she  herself  has 
completely  forgotten. 

IV.  THE  ISRAEL  OF  THE  ALPS       .        .        .147 

The  origin  of  the  Israel  of  the  Alps  —  Peter  Valdo  and 
the  beginning  of  the  Waldensian  mission  —  Doctrine 
and  organisation  of  the  "Waldensian  church  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  —  The  refuge  of  the  Waldensian  church  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Cottian  Alps  —  The  Waldenses  during  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  —  The  Waldenses 
and  the  Reformation  —  The  hurricane  of  persecution  — 
The  exile  —  The  "glorious  return"  —  The  Waldenses 
during  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  dawn  of  the  nine- 
teenth —  The  17th  February,  1848,  and  the  Edict  of 
Emancipation  of  the  Israel  of  the  Alps. 

V.  MISSIONARY  BLOSSOM  AND  EVANGEL- 

ICAL   FRUIT    IN    THE    GARDEN     OF 
ITALY 189 

The  religious  revival  in  Italy  during  the  first  half  of 
1800  —  Its  origin  —  The  Protestant  communities  founded 
in  Italy  by  foreigners  for  their  countrymen  in  Italy  and 
the  so-called  "Children's  Schools"  —  Their  connection 
with  the  dawn  of  the  Tuscan  evangelical  mission  — 
Count  Piero  Guicciardini  —  The  first  converts  and  the 


Contents  11 

first  secret  meetings  —  Italian  services  in  the  Swiss 
church  —  The  persecution  —  The  Waldensian  church 
associates  herself  with  the  new  movement  purified  and 
sanctified  by  the  fire  of  persecution  —  The  schism  — 
The  Waldensian  church  at  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  after  the  Edict  of  her  emancipation  —  The 
sister  churches  and  other  Christian  works  in  the  Italian 
field  —  The  Italian  mission  from  the  point  of  view  of  its 
results  —  The  reasons  why  they  have  not  been  and  are 
not  more  numerous  and  more  conspicuous. 

VI.  IN  THE  LAND  OF  EXILE    .        .        .        .245 

Political  condition  of  Italy  during  the  period  between 
1815  and  1848  —  The  Italian  exiles  —  Gabriele  Rossetti 
—  Luigi  Desanctis  —  Camillo  Mapei  —  Alessandro 
Gavazzi  —  The  three  great  centres  of  Italian  emigration 
and  evangelical  mission:  Malta;  Geneva;  London  — 
Giuseppe  Mazzini  and  the  "Italian  Free  School"  — 
The  "Echo  of  Savonarola"  —  The  " Italian  Mutual  Help 
Society"  —  The  Italian  church  in  London  —  Italian 
evangelical  hymnology  and  its  birth  in  the  land  of  exile. 

VII.  MODERNISM,    OR    THE   PRESENT    EF- 

FORT   FOR    REFORM    WITHIN    THE 
ROMAN  CHURCH 289 

Why  a  definition  of  modernism  is  impossible  —  Modern- 
ism a  misleading  term  —  The  importance  of  the  move- 
ment —  Modernism  not  a  new  phenomenon  —  The 
forerunners  of  the  present  movement  —  How  this  revolu- 
tionary movement  has  been  brought  about  —  Condition 
of  Roman  Catholicism  in  Italy  —  Protestant  influence  on 
the  Roman  Catholic  reform  movement  — The  programme 
of  modernism  —  A  modernist  message  to  America  — 
The  future  of  modernism. 


THE  DAWN  OF  CHEISTIANITY  IN  ROME. 
THE  WRONG  PATH.  FIRST  CRIES  OF 
ALARM 


THE  DAWN  OF  CHRISTIANITY  IN  ROME. 
THE  WRONG  PATH.  FIRST  CRIES  OF 
ALARM 

"*\  TOUR  faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the 
j[  whole  world."1  These  glorious  words 
were  written  in  the  spring  of  the  year  59 
by  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  at  Corinth  to  the 
church  of  Rome.  What  of  the  origin  of  a  church 
so  spiritually  flourishing  as  to  deserve  such  praise 
from  the  greatest  of  all  the  apostles?  It  is 
strange,  but  we  know  absolutely  nothing  of  the 
origin  of  this  strategic  point,  which  very  probably 
was  the  first  stormed  by  Christianity  to  conquer 
Europe  to  the  new  faith.  We  know  that  the 
church  of  Rome  was  born  in  the  apostolic  century; 
we  know  that  she  was  born  before  any  of  the 
apostles  had  ever  come  over  to  the  West;  we 
know  therefore  that  when  we  call  her  "  apos- 
tolic," we  must  understand  her  to  be  such  not 
directly,  but  only  indirectly;  and  that  is  all.    So 

Romans  i.  8. 

15 


16   The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

it  happens  in  this  world :  What  we  are  most  eager 
to  know,  remains  often  an  unfathomable  mystery 
to  us  all;  and  as  it  almost  always  happens  that 
popular  fancy  largely  supplies  with  its  romantic 
legends  the  silence  of  history,  so,  in  our  case,  the 
same  popular  fancy  which  created  the  legend  of 
Eomulus  to  explain  the  origin  of  Rome,  created 
also  the  legend  of  Peter,  of  his  episcopacy,  and  of 
his  twenty-five  years  pontificate,  to  explain  the 
origin  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 


When  in  Rome,  I  like  to  wander  at  sunset 
through  the  ruins  of  the  palace  of  the  Caesars. 
Sunset  in  Rome  is  not  like  sunset  in  any  other 
town  of  Italy.  In  Venice  it  is  the  hour  of  dreams 
of  love  in  fairyland;  in  Florence  it  is  the  hour 
of  glorious  visions  of  art ;  in  Naples  it  is  the  hour 
in  which  life  seems  to  merge  all  its  anxieties  in 
an  immense  wave  of  fantastic  music  and  bright 
melody;  in  Rome  it  is  the  solemn  hour  in  which 
one  feels  the  infinite,  the  mysterious  hour  of  great 
historical  reconstructions.  And  there,  beyond  the 
Tiber,  east  of  the  Janiculum  and  south  of  the 
Vatican,  I  rebuild  in  my  imagination  the  ancient 
Ghetto,    the   miserable?    almost   hidden   quarter 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Eome  17 

swarming  with  the  squalid  descendants  of  those 
Jews  whom  Pompey  brought  to  Eome  as  slaves. 
That  Ghetto  was  the  cradle  of  the  Christian 
Church.  How  the  Church  happened  to  be  born 
there  is  not  easy  to  explain.  Every  year  from  the 
Koman  Ghetto  not  a  few  pious  Jews  directed  their 
steps  towards  Jerusalem  to  offer  their  sacrifices 
in  the  Temple.  Some  of  those  Jews  were  to  be 
seen  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  among  the  crowd  to 
whom  St.  Peter  preached.  Is  it  not  natural  to 
think  that  some  Jew,  converted  on  that  great  day, 
brought  to  Eome  the  first  seeds  of  the  Gospel? 2 
Again  we  know  that  the  foundation  of  the  church 
of  Antioch  was  due  to  a  handful  of  laymen  driven 
away  from  Jerusalem  by  the  storm  of  persecution ; 
we  also  know  that  those  faithful  men  sowed  the 
good  seed  all  over  Syria ;  and  as  from  Syria,  from 
Asia  Minor,  and  from  Greece  people  used  to  flock 
to  Eome  continually  and  in  great  numbers,  should 
we  be  far  wrong  if  we  conjectured  that  it  was 
through  this  channel  that  the  first  news  of  the 
Gospel  reached  the  Eternal  City? 

Be  this  as  it  may,  there  remains  the  fact :  that 
the  Christian  church  of  Eome  came  to  light  in  the 
Jewish  cradle  of  the  Ghetto.    There  the  first  Chris- 

2  This  is  the  view  of  Baur,  Reuss,  Thiersch,  Mangold,  A.  Saba- 
tier,  Renan,  Holtzinann,  and  others. 


18    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

tian  missionary  movement  had  its  beginning  and, 
undisturbed,3  grew  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause 
uproars  in  the  Ghetto,  which  decided  the  Em- 
peror Claudius,  in  the  year  52,  to  issue  the  first 
decree  of  banishment  against  the  Jews.4  And  see 
how  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God !  As  the  perse- 
cution which  broke  out  at  Jerusalem  became  the 
means  by  which  a  handful  of  faithful  emigrants 
took  the  Gospel  through  all  Syria  so  that  from 
Syria  the  Gospel  was  able  to  find  its  way  to  Kome, 
so,  in  a  like  manner,  the  decree  of  Claudius  ban- 
ished from  Kome,  among  others,  Priscilla  and 
Aquila,5  who,  after  having  found  a  refuge  in 
Corinth  and  Ephesus,  became  the  hosts,  partners, 
and  protectors  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

•  The  presence  of  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Herod  (of  Idumsean 
origin)  at  the  Imperial  Court  was  sufficient  to  protect  the  Jews 
of  Rome  during  the  greater  part  of  Claudius'  reign  (41-54). 

4  Acts    xviii.    2.    "  Judseos    impulsore    Chresto    adsidue    tumul- 

tuantes Roma  expulit"    (Svet.   in  Claud.   XXXV). 

Herzog  (Real-Encykl.,  s.v.  Claudius)  thinks  that  the  Chrestus 
mentioned  in  the  edict  is  not  Jesus  Christ,  but  some  seditious 
Roman  Jew.    But  the  assumption  is  supposed  to  be  very  unlikely. 

BRenan  says:  "Aquila  and  Priscilla  are,  therefore,  the  first 
known  members  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  And  to  think  that  they 
have  in  Rome  scarcely  a  souvenir!  Legend,  which  is  always 
unjust,  because  it  is  invariably  ruled  by  political  reasons,  ousted 
from  the  Christian  Pantheon  the  two  obscure  artisans  in  order  to 
ascribe  the  honour  of  founding  the  Church  of  Rome  to  a  more  il- 
lustrious person,  and  thus  to  harmonise  more  readily  with  the 
haughty  pretensions  which  the  capital  of  the  Empire,  already  a 
Christian  city,  was  then  unable  to  surrender.     As  far  as  we  are 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  19 

The  decree  of  banishment  was  bound  to  be  a 
terrible  blow  to  the  rising  church;  still,  the  blow 
appears  not  to  have  been  fatal,  for,  seven  years 
later,  Paul  was  able  to  write  to  the  Christians  of 
Rome :  ' '  Your  faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the 
whole  world. ' '  Moreover,  in  the  very  letter  which 
contains  this  magnificent  eulogium,  we  find  the 
interesting  physiognomy  of  the  Roman  church 
outlined.  Professor  F.  Godet,  in  his  classical 
Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  has 
shown  that  the  church  of  Rome  was  composed  of 
a  minority  of  Christians  converted  from  Judaism 
who  had  not  yet  completely  freed  themselves  from 
the  law  of  Moses  and  the  traditional  rites  of  their 
fathers,  and  of  a  majority  of  believers  from 
the  ranks  of  heathenism.  This  means  that  the 
church,  born  and  nurtured  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Synagogue,  afterwards  left  the  Judaic 
trenches  to  attack  vigorously  the  heathen  encamp- 
ments. 

What  remains  is  too  well  known.  In  the  spring 
of  62  the  church  was  visited  by  the  Apostle  Paul, 

concerned,  we  believe  that  the  place  where  western  Christianity 
was  born,  was  not  the  theatrical  basilica  dedicated  to  St.  Peter, 
but  the  old  Ghetto  of  Porta  Portese.  .  .  .  And  instead  of  those 
proud  umbrageous  basilicas,  would  it  not  be  much  better  to  erect 
a  poor  chapel  to  the  memory  of  the  two  good  Jews  from  Pontus, 
who  were  expelled  by  the  police  of  Claudius  because  they  were 
followers  of  Christ?"— Saint  Paul,  p.  112. 


20    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

who  for  two  years  remained  in  Eome  as  a  pris- 
oner, still  enjoying,  however,  great  freedom  of 
action.  About  the  end  of  63,  or  at  the  beginning 
of  64,  Peter  also  was  in  Eome.  The  evidence  relat- 
ing to  this  sojourn  of  Peter  in  Eome  is  too  positive 
to  be  discarded  by  impartial  criticism;6  but  his 
sojourn  lasted  only  a  few  months;  at  the  most 
till  August,  64,  when  the  apostle  fell  a  victim  to 
the  Neronian  persecution. 


The  Christian  community  of  Eome,  at  the  dawn 
of  its  ecclesiastical  life,  had  no  bishop.  It  was  a 
church  represented  by  a  council  of  elders.  When 
Paul  wrote  his  great  letter  to  this  church  in  59,  al- 
though she  was  already  so  far  developed  as  to 
attract  the  attention  of  all  and  to  possess  ecclesi- 
astical offices  more  or  less  organised,7  yet  she  had 
no  bishop ;  nor  had  she  a  bishop  until  fifty  years 
later,  when  the  Eoman  community  sent  their  words 
of  advice  and  exhortation  to  the  community  of 
Corinth  through  Clement.8    The  letter  of  Ignatius 

•Clement  of  Rome  (d.  101),  Clement  of  Alexandria  (d.  220), 
St.  Dionysius  of  Corinth  (d.  1G5),  the  Muratorian  Fragment  (ab. 
170  or  180),  Irenseus  (d.  202),  Tertullian  (d.  218),  and  Gaius 
(d.  200). 

T  Romans  i.   1,   6  and  xii.  4,  9. 

'A.D.  91  or  100  (uncert.);  Clem,  of  Rome;  1  Corinthians  1 
and  44,  etc. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  21 

to  the  Romans 9  and  the  first  revelations  of  Her- 
nias,10 contained  in  the  Shepherd,  show  that  under 
the  reign  of  Trajan X1  and  in  the  first  years  of  the 
reign  of  Hadrian  12  the  church  of  Rome  was  still 
governed  by  presbyteral  rule.  It  is  only  about  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  that  the  Roman  ec- 
clesiastical government  was  changed.  Anicetus,13 
by  that  time,  was  already  ruling  the  church  with 
an  authority  altogether  episcopal.  And  it  is  at 
this  point  that  we  approach  a  crisis  of  the  great- 
est historical  importance.  In  the  days  of  Anicetus, 
Polycarp,  the  aged  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  came  to 
Rome  to  confer  with  the  Roman  bishop  as  to  the 
proper  time  for  keeping  Easter.14  The  discussion 
did  not  lead  to  a  perfectly  mutual  understanding; 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  and  the  Bishop  of  Smyrna 
held  fast  to  their  own  individual  rights,  but  fra- 
ternally partook  of  the  Holy  Communion.  The 
reciprocal  autonomy  of  the  churches  of  Rome  on 

•Ignatius    (d.  ab.   112). 

10ab.  142.  "98-117.  "117-138.  "157-168. 

"Polycarp  and  the  churches  of  Asia,  following  the  example  of 
St.  John,  kept  the  day  of  the  Crucifixion  on  Nisan  14,  irre- 
spective of  the  day  of  the  week.  Anicetus,  on  the  other  hand,  with 
his  predecessors  and  the  churches  of  the  West,  always  observed 
Friday  as  the  anniversary  of  the  Crucifixion,  and  Sunday  as  that 
of  the  Resurrection.  Each  could  quote  high  authority  and 
abundant  precedent  for  their  respective  views,  and  neither  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  nor  the  Bishop  of  Smyrna  felt  justified  in  altering 
a  custom  which  had  been  handed  down  by  the  traditions  of  their 
fathers. 


22    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

one  side,  and  of  the  churches  of  Asia,  which  Poly- 
carp  represented,  on  the  other,  was  acknowledged 
and  accepted.15  Now,  if  all  this  proves  that  the 
Asian  churches  were  greatly  concerned  with  the 
fellowship  of  the  churches  of  Eome,  it  proves 
also  that  by  that  time  the  most  perfect  equality 
reigned  among  the  bishops.  Half  a  century  later, 
the  same  discussion  arose  again.  Victor,16  how- 
ever, did  not  act  as  Anicetus  had  done ;  he  abruptly 
ended  the  controversy  by  an  act  of  authority;  ex- 
communicated and  declared  heretical  all  the 
churches  of  Asia  or  of  any  other  region  that  in 
this  question  of  the  date  of  Easter  had  not  followed 
the  Roman  practice.  This  happened  in  the  year 
19-4;  a  momentous  year,  because  it  was  by  that 
imperious  edict  that  Papacy  was  brought  to  life. 
Auguste  Sabatier  has  well  said:  "  From  the  days 
in  which  Victor  speaks  as  a  universal  bishop  and 
proclaims  heretical  the  churches  resisting  his  au- 
thority, nothing  more  is  to  be  done.  The  token  of 
truth  is  no  longer  in  doctrine,  but  in  the  external 
attitude  one  takes  before  Rome.  To  be  subject 
to  her,  is  to  be  orthodox ;  to  be  severed  from  her, 
is  to  be  heretical." 
So,  the  church  of  Rome,  which  down  to  the  reign 

15  Irenseus  relates  this   fact  in  a  letter  to  Victor,  Bishop  of 
Rome,  preserved  by  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccl,  V,  24.  "  190-202. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Eome  23 

of  Hadrian 17  had  had  no  bishop  properly  so  called, 
accepted  a  papistic  bishop  in  the  year  194;  a 
bishop  who  imposed  himself  on  the  community, 
and  became  the  synthesis  of  the  whole  community. 
Therefore,  as  A.  Sabatier  says,  "  owing  to  the 
plurality  of  bishops  who  thus  became  the  heads 
of  the  various  churches,  the  fatal  law  of  inexorable 
logic  necessitated  the  creation  of  the  bishop  of 
bishops,  the  synthesis  of  episcopacy  and  the  soul 
of  catholicity.  In  order  the  better  to  assimilate 
episcopacy  with  the  apostolate,  Peter  was  thrust 
by  force  into  the  series  of  bishops,  as  first  link  of 
the  mystical  chain ;  the  link  on  which  all  the  chain 
depended.  Exegesis  did  not  refuse  its  co-operation 
in  the  work  of  erecting  the  papal  edifice;  and  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Victor  and  Callistus  18  that  the 
Tu  es  Petrus 19  was  for  the  first  time  applied  by 
the  Eoman  exegesis  to  the  successors  of  Peter.' ' 
Then,  as  we  shall  see,  came  Constantine,20  his 
famous  donation  and  the  forged  Decretals  of  Isi- 
dore,21 "  the  two  magic  columns,  as  Gibbon  says, 
of  the  spiritual  and  temporal  monarchy  of  the 
Popes.  ■ '  Finally,  under  the  pontificate  of  Gregory 

"117-138.  18  Victor,  190-202.     Callistus,  219-222. 

"Matthew  xvi.  18,  19.  ,0 312-337. 

a  Constantine's  donation  is  understood  to  be  the  grant  of  the 
town  and  the  neighbouring  territories  of  Rome  which  he  is  sup- 
posed to  have  made  to  Pope  Sylvester.  The  latter  is  believed  to 
be  the  Pope  who  baptised  the  emperor  and  cured  him  of  leprosy. 


24    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

VII,22  the  idea  of  infallibility  began  to  appear; 
and  this  idea,  treated  for  the  first  time  as  an  article 
of  Catholic  theology  by  Thomas  Aquinas,23  became 
a  dogma  on  the  18th  of  July,  1870,  when,  in  the 
very  Church  for  which  a  God  had  made  Himself 
man,  a  man  had  the  impudence  to  proclaim  him- 
self god. 

But  let  us  not  anticipate  events. 

The  modern  apologists  of  Eoman  Catholicism 
explain  this  evolution  (as  they  are  very  fond  of 
calling  it),  which  started  from  the  democratic  pres- 
byteral  council  of  the  apostolic  times  and  ended 
in  the  absolute  sovereignty  of  the  infallible  Pope 
of  1870,  by  the  germ-theory;  and  have  for  their 

That  grant  should,  therefore,  be  considered  as  the  nucleus  of  the 
"  States  of  the  Church."  To  strengthen  the  power  of  the  Church 
a  series  of  documents  were  put  forward  toward  the  middle  of  the 
ninth  century,  claiming  to  be  the  official  letters  (Decretals)  of 
some  of  the  earlier  bishops  of  Rome, — beginning  with  Clement  as 
successor  of  Peter, — which  asserted  and  emphasised  the  supreme 
jurisdiction  of  the  Church,  and  of  the  Pope  as  Head  of  the  Church, 
over  all  secular  authority.  These  were  added  to  the  recognised 
collection  of  Canons  and  Acts  of  Councils  compiled  by  Isidore  of 
Seville,  and  are  known  as  the  Forged  Decretals  of  Isidore.  Their 
genuineness — especially  that  of  the  donation  of  Constantine — 
was  attacked  by  Laurentius  Valla  in  1441;  they  were  more  thor- 
oughly criticised  by  Erasmus,  about  1530;  and  their  authenticity 
is  considered  to  have  been  finally  disproved  by  the  Magdeburg 
Centuriators,  a  group  of  Protestant  scholars  and  Church  his- 
torians, about  1580.  Roman  Catholic  historians,  while  acknowl- 
edging the  forgery,  plead  the  circumstances  which  doubtless  jus- 
tified the  authors  in  their  own  eyes. 
°  1073-1085.  a  1226-1274. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  25 

patron  saint  Cardinal  Newman,  whom  they  con- 
sider as  the  Darwin  of  Church  history.  But  we 
must  not  distort  words,  or  deceive  ourselves  as 
to  the  true  meaning  of  facts.  An  institution  which, 
beginning  with  the  purest  spirituality,  ends  in  the 
grossest  formalism;  which,  beginning  in  a  free 
Christian  spirit,  ends  in  the  most  merciless 
tyranny;  which,  beginning  with  the  idea  of  being 
a  means  for  the  triumph  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
in  the  world,  ends  by  becoming  itself  a  worldly 
kingdom  and  by  coveting  the  homage  of  royalties 
even  if  those  royalties  be  infidels  and  if  their 
hands  be  stained  with  Christian  blood,  surely  can- 
not be  considered  an  institution  which  has  passed 
through  a  normal  and  healthy  evolution;  it  is  a 
corrupt  institution;  an  institution  issued  from 
the  hands  of  God,  yes,  but  dragged  by  its  own  am- 
bition to  abase  itself  in  the  world. 


Is  it  possible  that  all  this  degenerating  process 
could  pass  unobserved,  without  arousing  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Church  herself  some  cries  of  pro- 
test? Cries  of  protest  were  heard,  but  they  were 
impotent  to  stop  the  current  of  worldliness  and 
the  thirst  for  dominion  that  had  invaded  the 
Church. 


26    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

It  might  be  most  interesting  to  try  and  catch 
the  impressions  produced  by  the  rise  of  Papacy 
in  other  churches  than  that  of  Rome.  For  in- 
stance :  The  famous  Tu  es  Petrus  already  referred 
to  did  not  assume  the  meaning  and  the  dogmatic 
importance  that  the  theologians  of  Papacy  have 
ascribed  to  it,  until  the  third  century;  when  the 
bishops  of  Rome  were  in  need  of  it  to  uphold  their 
rising  pretensions.  But  against  such  an  exegesis 
inspired  by  polity,  Tertullian24  lifted  high  his 
voice  to  assert  that  these  words  of  Jesus  and  the 
privilege  that  they  implied  had  reference  only  to 
the  person  of  Peter;  so  that  the  Roman  bishops 
had  no  right  whatever  to  apply  them  to  them- 
selves and  to  their  See.25  More  freely  still  and 
with  less  polemic  intention  than  Tertullian, 
Origen  20  declared  that  the  promise  was  not  made 
by  Jesus  to  the  person  of  Peter,  who  a  little  fur- 
ther on  is  called  Satan,  but  to  that  very  faith  of 
which  at  that  moment  Peter  was  the  mouthpiece, 
and  on  which  the  Church  is  grounded.27 

The  whole  third  century  is  full  of  conflicts 
created  by  the  haughty  pretensions  of  the  bishops 
of  Rome.  Let  me  only  mention  the  most  important 

"  160-230. 

25 "  Domini  intentionem  hoc  personaliter  Petro  conferentem."— 
De  Pudic,  XXI. 
"  d-  254.  w  Commentary  on  Matthew  xvi.  18. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Kome  27 

and  most  symptomatic  of  them :  I  mean  the  conflict 
that  broke  out  about  the  middle  of  the  century  be- 
tween Stephen  of  Rome28  and  Cyprian  of  Car- 
thage,29 on  account  of  the  baptism  of  heretics.30 
Cyprian  would  have  liked  a  peaceful  and  amicable 
solution  of  the  difficulty.  Stephen,  instead,  in- 
sisted on  imposing  his  own  solution  by  virtue  of 
his  prerogative  as  successor  of  Peter,  and  threat- 
ened with  excommunication  all  those  who  dared  to 
refuse  it.  Cyprian  defined  Stephen's  behaviour 
as  intolerable  abuse.  Two  Councils  held  at  Car- 
thage31 took  Cyprian's  side.  The  larger  number 
of  the  Eastern  bishops,  with  Dionysius  of  Alex- 
andria at  their  head,  arrayed  themselves  against 
Stephen.  It  was  a  regular  insurrection  of  almost 
the  whole  episcopacy,  in  defence  of  their  rights  and 
of  their  independence  so  openly  menaced  by  Rome. 
But  we  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  distracted 
by  fascinating  Africa;  it  is  in  the  West  that  we 
must  remain,  and  especially  in  Italy,  in  order  to 
catch  the  cries  of  protest  that  were  heard  com- 

18  253  or  257.  »d.  258. 

80  When  a  heretic  was  converted,  the  Roman  Church  regarded  his 
previous  baptism  as  valid,  and  admitted  him  into  membership 
by  simple  confirmation,  or  laying  on  of  hands.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  churches  of  Asia,  previous  heretical  baptism  was 
ignored,  and  a  convert  was  required  to  undergo  baptism  anew. 
This  also  was  the  custom  of  the  North  African  churches. 

91 254  and  256. 


28    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

ing  not  from  the  outside,  but  from  the  very  bosom 
of  the  Church.  Here  we  have  to  stay  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Protestant  revolution  which, 
in  the  history  of  Christianity,  made  the  sixteenth 
century  so  memorable. 

The  first  cry  of  protest  recorded  in  history  is 
the  cry  of  a  layman  against  the  evils  of  the  Church, 
and  was  uttered  in  the  very  middle  of  the  second 
century.  It  is  the  cry  of  Hermas,  whose  Shepherd, 
read  at  first  in  the  churches  and  afterwards  placed 
as  an  appendix  to  the  Sacred  Volume,  nearly 
found  its  way  into  the  Christian  Canon.  It  has 
been  called  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  of  the  second 
century;  but  that  is  an  exaggeration;  because  if 
the  Shepherd  and  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  are 
somewhat  alike  in  their  general  features,  they  dif- 
fer as  far  as  the  spirit  and  the  correctness  of  doc- 
trine are  concerned.  In  this  their  diversity  is  to  be 
found  the  reason  for  the  fact  that  the  fame  and 
the  popularity  of  the  Shepherd  did  not  and  will 
not  last  as  long  as  that  of  Bunyan's  inspired  work. 
Notwithstanding  this,  Hermas '  protesting  cry  has 
great  value.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  Papacy  was  not  yet  born ;  but  the  abuses 
had  already  begun.  As  the  Shepherd  says : 
11  Customs  have  become  worldly;  discipline  is 
relaxed;  the  Church  is  a  sickly  old  woman  in- 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  29 

capable  of  standing  on  her  feet ;  rulers  and  ruled 
are  all  languishing,  and  many  among  them  are 
corrupt,  covetous,  greedy,  hypocritical,  conten- 
tious, slanderers,  blasphemers,  libertines,  spies, 
renegades,  schismatics.  Worthy  teachers  are  not 
wanting,  but  there  are  also  many  false  prophets, 
vain,  eager  after  the  first  seats,  for  whom  the 
greatest  thing  in  life  is  not  the  practice  of  piety 
and  justice,  but  the  strife  for  the  post  of  com- 
mand. Now  the  day  of  wrath  is  at  hand ;  the  pun- 
ishment will  be  dreadful ;  the  Lord  will  give  unto 
every  one  according  to  his  works"!  Hermas, 
therefore,  in  the  spirit  of  one  of  the  prophets  of 
old,  exhorts  the  Church  to  repentance;  and  in 
sparkling,  apocalyptic  language  gives  to  his  read- 
ers the  vision  of  the  Church  of  his  heart,  which  is 
like  a  tower  that  God  has  built,  and  whose  founder, 
corner-stone,  and  door  is  Christ. 

Such,  says  E.  Comba,  is  the  mystic  and  awful 
protest  of  Hermas ;  the  cry  of  a  man  who,  removed 
not  more  than  half  a  century  from  the  death  of  the 
last  of  the  apostles,  seems  to  be  more  a  forerunner 
of  monastic  asceticism  than  one  who  carried  on  the 
apostolic  work;  nevertheless  it  is  the  cry  of  an 
honest  man  which  was  bound  to  echo  in  a  Church 
already  so  convulsed  and  harassed. 

The  voice  of  the  layman  Hermas  was  followed, 


30    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

half  a  century  later,  by  the  voice  of  a  churchman : 
Hippolytus.32  Was  he  simply  an  elder  or  a  bishop  f 
a  Pope  or  an  Antipope?  an  excommunicated  man 
or  a  martyr?  All  this  has  been  asked.  "We  shall 
not  occupy  ourselves  with  a  search  for  the  best 
answers  to  these  queries ;  what  is  really  of  impor- 
tance to  us  here  are  the  following  facts,  which  by 
several  means 33  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain : 
That  he  lived  in  Rome  under  Zephyrinus  3*  and 
Callistus,35  and  that  he  lashed  Zephyrinus,  whom 
he  described  as  "  a  weak  and  venal  fool,"  38  and 
especially  Callistus,  whom  he  speaks  of  as  "  a 
cheat,' '  "  a  sacrilegious  swindler,  an  infamous 
convict,  and  an  arch-heretic  ex  cathedra." 37  And 
he  was  perfectly  right.  Callistus  was  a  wicked 
and  corrupt  man;  so  ambitious  and  unscrupulous 
that  he  bargained  with  heretics  and  renegades  for 
his  election  to  the  episcopal  See.  He  was  the  first 
to  restrict  to  the  Roman  See  the  power  of  forgiv- 
ing all  kinds  of  sins  ;38  and  he  exercised  this  power 

M  198-236. 

83  In  1842  a  MS.  of  his  Philosophumena,  or  a  Refutation  of  all 
the  Heresies,  was  discovered  on  Mount  Athos.  The  first  of  the 
ten  books  of  these  Philosophumena  had  long  been  printed  to- 
gether with  the  works  of  Origen.  In  1551  a  fine  statue  of  Hip- 
polytus was  dug  up  in  Via  Tiburtina,  Rome,  which  represents  the 
venerable  man  clad  in  a  toga  and  pallium  and  seated  on  a  bishop's 
chair,  on  the  back  of  which  is  engraved  a  list  of  his  writings. 

-  202-217.  »  217-222.  »  Philosoph.,    p.    278. 

"Neicman   Tracts,   p.    222    (1874).        **  Philosophy  IX,  12. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  31 

largely  not  in  order  to  increase  but  to  weaken 
evangelical  discipline  and  to  make  the  Church  a 
slave  to  episcopacy.  He  used  to  liken  the  Church 
to  the  Ark  of  Noah,  containing  all  sorts  of  ani- 
mals, clean  and  unclean,  dogs  and  wolves  included. 
Anxious  not  to  lose  the  support  of  the  clergy, 
he  granted  them  all  sorts  of  iniquitous  conces- 
sions; and  in  order  to  keep  the  favour  of  the 
Patricians,  he  went  so  far  as  to  tolerate  shame- 
lessly their  concubinage. 

When  we  think  of  these  spiritual  and  moral 
conditions  of  the  Church,  we  feel  as  in  a  dream. 
Who  would  ever  believe  that  such  were  the  condi- 
tions of  a  period  removed  scarcely  a  century  from 
the  golden  age  of  Christian  piety?  If  the  Church, 
led  by  men  such  as  Zephyrinus  and  Callistus,  did 
not  perish  miserably,  it  was  not  because  men  did 
not  do  their  best  to  dishonour  and  kill  her,  but  be- 
cause God  saved  her  with  His  mighty  hand.  And 
is  it  to  be  wondered  at  if  the  voice  of  Hippolytus 
thundered  in  the  midst  of  such  moral  disorder? 
if  he  pitilessly  unmasked  Callistus,  brought  to 
light  his  perfidy,  and  called  him  a  sorcerer  on  ac- 
count of  his  art  of  seducing  souls,  and  an  impostor 
on  account  of  his  false  doctrines?  Hippolytus 
called  in  question  the  authority  and  the  primacy 
of  all  bishops  of  that  kind  and  denied  the  legit- 


32  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 
imacy  of  the  impious  dualism :  the  moral  character 
of  a  man  and  the  office  entrusted  to  him.  The 
Church,  he  said,  is  not  an  Ark  containing  all  kinds 
of  animals ;  it  is  a  ship,  if  you  like ;  but  a  ship  hav- 
ing Christ  as  pilot  and  the  cross  as  the  ensign;  or, 
if  you  prefer  to  call  her  an  edifice,  you  must  re- 
member that  Christ,  and  no  one  else  but  Christ,  is 
her  corner-stone. 

Hippolytus  was  worsted;  but  the  Christians  of 
Rome  never  forgot  his  name;  they  blessed  his 
memory ;  they  piously  kept  his  remains  and  erected 
a  chapel,  as  a  memorial,  where  the  people  used  to 
go  regularly  to  pray.39 

If  men  of  God  such  as  Hippolytus,  who  without 
leaving  the  Church  thundered  against  the  abuses 
of  the  Roman  bishops,  had  succeeded,  Christianity 
would  have  been  spared  many  troubles,  and  the 
Kingdom  of  God  would  have  continued  more  speed- 
ily its  triumphal  march.  But,  alas,  the  period  be- 
tween 150  and  250  was  decisive  in  the  growth  of 
sacerdotalism  and  of  the  papal  spirit,  and  noth- 
ing could  stop  the  Church  in  her  fatal  descent. 
Persecutions  had  so  far  checked  the  corruption 
of  faith  and  of  customs,  but  did  not  lead  the 

M  The  crypt  where  the  remains  of  Hippolytus  were  laid  wa9 
discovered  recently  in  Via  Tiburtina,  opposite  the  Church  of  San 
Lorenzo.  Vide  de  Rossi:  Bullett.,  1882,  p.  56,  and  1883  passim. 
His  statue  was  discovered  on  the  same  site  in  1551   (vide  n.  33). 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Eome  33 

Church  back  to  her  original  purity  and  simplicity ; 
and  it  was  just  at  the  end  of  the  two  awful  years 
during  which  Decius  scourged  the  Church  almost 
to  death  by  his  persecution,  that  the  first  schisms 
broke  out.  These  are  the  link  between  the  in- 
dividual protests  and  the  heresies  properly  so 
called. 

Eome,  at  that  time,  had  in  her  midst  the  No- 
vatians,  whose  leader,  Novatianus,  was  the 
preacher  of  "  the  old  severity  of  customs  "  as  the 
only  remedy  against  the  evils  of  general  apos- 
tasy, and  the  apostle  of  a  Church  composed  en- 
tirely of  "  Catharists,"  namely  "puritans."40 
Novatianus,  like  Montanus 41  in  the  East,  was  a 
man  animated  by  the  best  of  intentions;  but  as 
both  went  beyond  the  limits  of  reasonableness, 
they  yielded  themselves  to  the  exaggerations  of 
reaction,  and  knew  not  how  to  keep  their  own  faith 
pure  from  defilement.    They  failed  to  produce  in 

40  They  held  that  the  other  churches  had  fallen  off,  and  baptised 
again  those  who  joined  their  church,  for  they  did  not  recognise 
the  baptism  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  as  valid.  They  also 
regarded  as  impure  all  those  who  partook  of  communion  with  the 
lapsi,  that  is,  with  those  who  had  recanted  in  order  to  avoid 
torture. 

41  The  Montanistic  sect  arose  a  few  years  after  the  death  of 
Hippolytus  (d.  236).  It  was  an  outbreak  of  the  spiritualistic 
fervour  which  cut  adrift,  like  Quakerism  or  Methodism,  from  the 
formalities  of  the  Church,  and  claimed  to  be  a  new  dispensation, 
under  the  immediate  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  was,  aa 
Baur  explains,  a  sort  of  Gnosticism  reversed. 


34    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

the  Church  the  effect  they  had  in  view,  and  which 
it  would  have  been  a  great  blessing  had  they  been 
able  to  attain.  Add  to  all  this  the  incessant  at- 
tempts of  the  heretical  sects  who  tried  their  best 
to  revive  either  Judaism  or  Paganism  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Church,  which  had  dominated  but  not  alto- 
gether subdued  them;  add,  that  is  to  say,  the 
deleterious  working  of  the  Nazarenes  and  of  the 
Ebionites,  who  had  gone  back  completely  into 
Judaism,  and  after  having  denied  the  divinity  of 
Christ  had  set  themselves  up  as  a  special  sect; 
add  the  working  of  Valentinus 42  and  the  Gnostics, 
who,  inspired  by  the  Oriental  gnosis,  introduced, 
secretly  at  first  and  then  openly,  the  dualistic 
theories  into  the  new  Manichaean  form  which  they 
adopted ;  add  the  Unitarian  heresy 43  which  had  ex- 
isted in  Rome  since  the  end  of  the  second  century, 
and  you  will  have  an  idea  of  the  conditions  of  the 
Church  at  the  end  of  her  second  period. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  third  century 
that  the  Church  found  herself  in  a  most  critical 
condition,  torn  by  all  kinds  of  hypocrisies,  ambi- 
tions, and  internal  strifes.     Gallienus,44  the  son 


^Valentinus  was  in  Rome  from   140  to  160. 

"The  Unitarian  heresy  was  represented  in  Rome  (about  the 
end  of  the  second  century)  by  Theodotus,  the  Currier,  and  by  a 
second  Theodotus,  the  Money  Changer,  one  of  his  disciples, 

"2G0-2G3. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Borne  35 

of  Valerian,  reversing  his  father's  policy,  had 
practically  granted  toleration  to  the  Christians; 
and  for  about  forty  years  after  this,  the  Church 
enjoyed  an  almost  unbroken  rest.  But  rest,  when 
not  consecrated  to  God  and  to  the  Cause  of  God, 
is  as  dangerous  to  the  life  of  individuals  as  to 
the  life  of  the  churches;  the  Evil  One  is  sure  to 
make  use  of  it  for  his  own  purposes;  then  the 
persecution  of  Diocletian,  the  last  and  most 
formidable  of  all  persecutions,  not  excepting  that 
of  Decius,  broke  out;45  and  with  this  persecution 
we  are  led  to  the  age  of  Constantine ;  to  the  age 
in  which  the  Eoman  Empire,  from  being  the  enemy 
and  persecutor  of  the  Church,  became  her  pro- 
tector and  patron.  The  Church  entered  into  an 
alliance  with  the  State,  which  was  to  prove  so 
fruitful  of  consequences  in  the  subsequent  history 
of  Europe,  both  for  good  and  evil,  but  more  for 
evil  than  for  good. 


When  Christianity  became  the  religion  of  the 
Empire,46  it  became  also  the  fashion  of  a  luxurious 

a  284-305. 

*s  Christianity  was  declared  the  religion  of  the  Empire  by  Con- 
stantine, in  the  year  324.  From  this  time  (excepting  the  short 
reign  of  Julian)  it  continued  to  be  the  State  religion  as  long  as 
the  Empire  existed.     The  Empire  was   divided  at  the  death  of 


36    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

and  decaying  society.  That  was  in  the  era  from 
Constantine  to  Gregory  I;47  an  era  of  great  de- 
cline for  the  Church;  and  the  decline  was  more 
evident  in  Rome  than  anywhere  else.  "  Chris- 
tianity in  Rome/'  says  Gregorovius,48  "became 
in  a  very  short  time  corrupt ;  and  this  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  because  the  ground  in  which  the  seed 
of  its  doctrines  had  been  sown  was  rotten  and 
the  least  apt  of  all  other  grounds  in  the  world 
to  bring  forth  good  fruit.  .  .  .  The  Roman  char- 
acter had  not  been  changed  from  what  it  was  of 
old,  because  baptism  cannot  change  the  spirit  of 
the  times.' '  Christian  piety,  that  had  made  the 
first  classical  period  of  the  faith  so  glorious  and 
which,  in  the  second  period,  had  gone  through  so 
many  vicissitudes,  grew  in  this  third  period  into 
a  formal  and  churchly  piety  without  any  moral 
effect  whatever  on  the  life  of  individuals  and  of 
the  community.  Conversion  became  nothing  but  a 
round  of  ceremonies  and  perfunctory  duties. 
Many  believed  that  by  almsgiving  and  by  partak- 
ing of  the  Communion  they  might  atone  for  sinful 
lives.    Baptism  became  an  easy  means  of  rescue 

Theodosius  (395)  into  the  Eastern  (or  Greek)  and  Western  (or 
Latin)  Empires.  The  Eastern  Empire  lasted  until  1453,  when 
Constantinople  was  taken  by  the  Turks.  The  Western  Empire 
perished  in  47G. 

•813-590. 

48  Storia  ddla  citla  di  Roma  ncl  Medio  Evo,  Vol.  I,  p.  155. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  37 

from  perdition,  and  hence  many  deferred  to  re- 
ceive it  until  frightened  by  the  approach  of  death. 
Christianity  in  a  short  time  became  the  religion  of 
the  rich  and  powerful;  and  as  soon  as  that  was  the 
case,  the  desire  to  set  up  a  severe  simplicity 
against  the  splendour  of  pagan  temples  was  less 
felt  and  the  primitive  aversion  to  art  in  worship 
began  to  pass  away.  Churches  of  more  imposing 
proportions  and  more  costly  furnishings  were 
erected.  Pictures,  especially  those  representing 
Bible  scenes,  were  generally  adopted  in  the 
churches,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury the  use  of  images  had  already  become  preva- 
lent. People  began  to  prostrate  themselves  before 
them,  and  many  of  the  more  ignorant  to  worship 
them.  The  adoration  of  Mary  became  general; 
and  whilst  baptism,  with  the  addition  of  supple- 
mentary rites,  lost  its  original  simplicity,  the 
Lord's  Supper  became  a  sacrificial  offering  by 
the  Christian  priests.  Therefore  it  was  quite 
natural  that  as  the  Lord's  Supper  was  little  by 
little  losing  its  primitive  character  of  a  simple 
commemoration  of  the  death  of  Christ  and  becom- 
ing a  sacrifice,  the  ancient  presbyter  should  also 
little  by  little  transform  himself  into  a  priest. 

The  era  from  Gregory  I  to  Charlemagne  was  the 
era  of  the  founding  of  the  Church  among  the 


38    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

English  and  the  Germans;  a  period  of  political 
and  ecclesiastical  disorder,  out  of  which  the  papal 
power  emerged  with  added  strength.  The  Pope 
who  mostly  contrihuted  to  such  a  result  was 
Gregory  I,49  a  really  great  man,  considering  the 
time  of  extreme  spiritual  and  moral  desolation  in 
which  he  lived.  Those  were  times  eminently  pro- 
pitious for  the  new  triumphs  of  the  Eoman  See. 
So  much  so  that  Gregory,  ruling  as  a  true  dictator 
in  Rome,  was  the  first  Pope  to  see  the  peoples  of 
the  West  humbly  gathered  round  the  apostolic  See. 
The  era  from  Charlemagne  to  Gregory  VII60 
was  one  in  which  the  Tree  of  Christianity  stretched 
out  its  branches  and  gathered  in  its  shade  the 
peoples  of  the  north  and  east  of  Europe.  During 
that  period  a  movement  of  no  little  importance 
took  place.  The  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  power 
had  at  that  time  only  one  ideal ;  namely,  to  secure 
the  primacy ;  and  the  primacy  was  doomed  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  Papacy,  to  whose  help  came  fraud 
and  falsehood.  Charlemagne,  in  fact,  who  was 
conscious  of  being  the  protector  and  defender  of 
the  Church  and  of  her  members,  received  the  oaths 
of  allegiance  from  the  Popes  and  admonished  them 
as  to  their  duty  even  in  matters  of  doctrine.  But 
when  Charlemagne  died  in  814  and  his  empire  was 

48  590-604.  «o  800-1073. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  39 

broken  up  by  warring  factions,  the  Popes  im- 
proved every  opportunity  afforded  them  by  the 
disorders  of  the  times,  to  make  themselves  more 
independent.  The  movement  of  the  whole  age  was 
toward  papal  ascendency;  and  so  as  to  assert  the 
superiority  of  the  Church  over  the  State  and  to 
crown  Papacy  with  the  aureola  of  temporal  power, 
the  fictions  of  Constantine's  donation  and  the 
Pseudo-Isidorian  Decretals  were  brought  forward. 
On  the  22d  of  April,  1073,  Hildebrand,  later  known 
as  Pope  Gregory  VII,  the  restorer  and  upholder 
of  the  Decretal  system  and  the  founder  of  papal 
authority,  was  suddenly  called  to  ascend  the  pon- 
tifical throne  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  clergy 
and  people. 

The  period  from  Gregory  VII  to  Boniface 
VIII 51  is  too  well  known  for  me  to  spend  many 
words  on  it.  It  was  the  period  of  the  full  sway  of 
Papacy  in  Western  countries ;  the  period  of  celi- 
bacy and  investiture,  of  the  Crusades,  of  the 
bloodthirsty  Inquisition,52  the  period  in  which  the 

n  1073-1294. 

"The  papal  legates  had  long  before  been  invested  with  in- 
quisitorial powers  to  crush  heresy.  Bishops  were  especially 
charged  in  1215  by  the  Fourth  Lateran  Council  to  ferret  out  and 
punish  heretics  or  to  appoint  agents  for  the  purpose.  In  1229 
the  Council  of  Toulouse  more  thoroughly  reorganised  this  epis- 
copal inquisition.  In  1232  and  1233  the  work  was  entrusted  to 
monks  of  the  Dominican  order. 


40    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Church,  intoxicated  with  the  spirit  of  earthly- 
dominion,  almost  completely  forgot  the  Kingdom 
and  righteousness  of  God.  With  Boniface  VIII 
Papacy  found  itself  on  the  decline ;  and  whilst  the 
dawn  of  modern  times  was  breaking,  the  need  of 
reform  began  to  be  felt. 


Now,  in  the  midst  of  such  spiritual  and  moral 
deviation  of  the  Papacy,  the  clergy,  and  the  whole 
laity  from  truth  and  right,  is  it  possible  that  not 
one  word  of  protest  was  heard  in  Italy  during  al- 
most ten  centuries  of  the  restless,  turbulent,  spas- 
modic, and  abnormal  life  of  the  Church? 

Already  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  two 
powerful  voices  were  raised;  that  of  Jovinian,53 
who  thundered  against  the  idea  of  the  Church  be- 
ing an  assemblage  of  baptised  beings  instead  of  a 
body  of  faithful  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
who  also  denounced  meritorious  works  and  com- 
pulsory celibacy;  and  that  of  Vigilantius  54  against 
compulsory  celibacy,  the  worshipping  of  martyrs, 
and  pilgrimages.    Later  on,  in  the  first  half  of 

"Jovinian  was,  according  to  some,  a  Roman;  according  to 
others,  a  Milanese.    He  died  about  406. 

"Vigilantius  was  born  in  364  in  the  small  village  called,  in 
Old  timet,  Galagorris,  and  to-day  Houra,  in  the  Comminges  Dis- 
trict, in  Gascony. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  41 

the  ninth  century,  the  voice  of  Claudius  of  Turin 5B 
was  heard,  condemning  the  worshipping  of  images 
and  of  the  cross;  and  in  the  tenth  century  Ra- 
therius  of  Verona 50  denounced  idolatry,  bitterly 
reproved  the  immorality  of  the  clergy  and  the 
negligence  of  the  bishops,  and  tried  to  remind  the 
priesthood,  who  were  stupefied  by  vice  and  igno- 
rance, that  "  God  is  a  spirit  and  must  be  wor- 
shipped in  spirit  and  in  truth.' '  But  what  could 
he  do  when,  at  Verona,  after  having  preached  on 
the  spirituality  of  God,  many  of  his  clergy  pro- 
tested, saying:  "  What  is  then  to  be  done?  We 
thought  we  knew  something  about  God,  but  God 
is  nothing  at  all  if  He  has  not  a  head  "! 57 

But,  alas,  these  sporadic  protesting  voices,  in  the 
midst  of  those  times  of  such  a  complete  decline, 
became  more  and  more  feeble.  One  would  have 
thought  that  the  Church  was  altogether  beyond 
any  possibility  of  reform,  and  that  she  was  doomed 
to  fall  in  ruins  on  the  judgment  day  when  God  was 
expected  to  punish  the  world.  That  terrible  day 
was  thought  to  be  at  hand.  The  rumour  was  more 
and  more  insistently  circulated  that  the  first  hour 
of  the  year  1000  would  be  the  last  for  the  world. 
But  neither  was  the  world  destined  to  crumble 

65  d-  839-  Mab.  890-974. 

"Ratherius:   germ.  I,  "  De  Quadragesima." 


42    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

away  nor  was  Christianity  to  remain  without  re- 
form ;  and  the  individual  protests  which  we  have 
already  mentioned  were  soon  followed  by  a  new 
sequence  of  reaction,  which  we  shall  call :  Mediae- 
val reaction. 

During  the  great  struggles  between  Papacy  and 
the  Empire,  between  the  Guelfs  and  Ghibellines, 
Arnold  of  Brescia  58  for  nine  years  led  a  Kepublic 
in  Rome  in  open  defiance  of  Emperor  and  Pope. 
The  populace  of  Rome  had  broken  out  in  rebellion 
against  Pope  Lucius  II,59  who  was  stoned  to  death, 
and  they  kept  his  successor,  Eugene  II,  a  monk  of 
Bernard's  own  training,  in  perpetual  exile.  Ar- 
nold, who  had  been  a  disciple  of  Abelard,  began  to 
preach  a  free  Gospel,  to  denounce  priestly  vices, 
and  to  proclaim  that  the  clergy  must  give  back  all 
property  and  secular  dominion  to  the  State  and 
return  to  the  simplicity  enjoined  by  the  Gospel 
and  practised  by  its  first  ministers.  His  religious 
fervour  developed  into  political  enthusiasm,  which 
kindled  town  after  town  of  his  native  Lombardy 
and  carried  him  on  a  wave  of  popular  triumph  to 
his  brief  rule  in  Rome.  But  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  Frederick  Barbarossa  and  delivered  over 
to  Adrian  IV,  as  part  of  a  new  compact  of  alli- 
ance, he  was  first  strangled  as  a  rebel,  then  burned 

"1100-1155.  "1145. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  43 

as  a  heretic;  and  his  ashes  were  cast  into  the 
Tiber,  lest  anything  that  had  been  his  should  be 
kept  as  a  sacred  relic  among  the  people.  Thus 
vanished  the  martyr;  but  his  ideal  did  not  vanish. 
It  remained,  as  we  shall  see,  and  inspired,  later, 
many  other  vigorous  protests. 

The  Catharists,  whom  the  populace  in  Lom- 
bardy  used  to  call  Patarenes,60  appeared  in  Pied- 
mont at  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century.61 
They  were  not  free  from  doctrinal  errors,  but, 
as  much  as  we  know  of  them,  by  the  purity  of  their 
lives,  by  their  self-denial,  their  humility,  their  love 
for  the  New  Testament,  by  the  simplicity  of  their 
worship,  and  their  abhorrence  of  sacred  images, 
and  by  their  missionary  zeal,  they  made  an  ener- 
getic protest  against  Rome.  They  spread  all  over 
Italy,  from  Piedmont  to  the  far  end  of  Sicily;  and 
when  they  disappeared,  about  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, exterminated  by  persecution  in  that  very 
Piedmont  where  they  had  first  commenced  their 

60  During  the  time  of  Gregory  VII  (1073-85),  a  handful  of  the 
lowest  class  of  the  inhabitants  of  Milan,  led  by  a  fanatic  called 
Arialdo,  rose  to  protest  against  the  papal  innovations,  especially 
against  investitures  and  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy.  These  in- 
surgents were  called  Patarenes,  which  in  the  Milanese  dialect 
means  hawkers,  or  because  they  dwelt  in  a  wretched  quarter  of 
the  town  called  Pataria.  When  the  Catharists  (or  puritans) 
first  appeared  in  Lombardy,  they  were  immediately  called  Pata- 
renes by  the  people. 

"About   1028. 


44    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
work,  they  left  their  protest  to  the  Waldenses  as 
an  inheritance. 

Of  the  Waldenses  we  shall  speak  in  a  special 
chapter ;  but  here,  if  only  by  the  way,  mention  must 
be  made  of  the  great  monastic  movement  which 
was  so  momentous  at  the  time  which  we  have  now 
been  led  to  by  our  study.  Monasticism,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  East  through  Paconius  62  and  Basil,63 
had  already,  as  early  as  the  time  of  Athanasius 
and  Augustine,04  greatly  affected  the  imagination 
of  Western  Europe ;  but  only  in  the  sixth  century 
did  it  find  in  Benedict  of  Norcia 65  a  powerful  and 
intelligent  organiser.  Monasticism,  in  the  East, 
had  been  essentially  ascetic;  in  the  West,  with 
Benedict,  it  became  more  practical,  more  active, 
more  human,  although  still  with  a  limited  horizon. 
Benedict,  who  died  in  prayer  beside  his  own  grave 
which  he  had  prepared  for  himself,  shows  us  in  the 
most  vivid  manner  the  nature  of  his  monastic 
ideal.  But  from  the  thirteenth  century  onwards, 
the  monastic  institutions  assumed  a  different  as- 
pect, through  the  appearance  of  the  so-called 
Mendicant  Orders.  The  Dominicans  and  the  Fran- 
ciscans came  out  of  their  life  of  meditation  and 

prayer  and  tried  to  re-awaken  in  the  mind  of  all 
rad.  348.  ea  d>  379 

•*  Athanasius   (d.  373);  Augustine    (354-430). 
w  480-543. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Eome  45 

the  idea  of  the  Church  as  a  religious  institution  at 
a  time  when,  for  so  long,  it  had  been  nothing  else 
but  a  political  instrument  in  the  hands  of  princes. 
The  Dominicans,  defenders  of  the  faith,  founded 
the  Inquisition;  the  Franciscans  revealed  to  the 
people  the  mysticism  of  Christianity  as  they  un- 
derstood it ;  and,  through  the  creation  of  the  Ter- 
tiaries,  put  monastic  piety  within  reach  of  all 
members  of  the  Church.  They  were  true,  faith- 
ful servants  of  Eome ;  notwithstanding  that,  they 
had  their  share  in  shaking  the  very  foundations 
of  the  Eoman  system,  inasmuch  as  they  insisted 
on  the  fact  that  true  piety  consists  more  in  life 
than  in  forms,  and  opposed  their  simple,  sober 
virtues  to  the  pomp,  ignorance,  and  ambition  of 
the  great  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

How  it  happened  that  by  their  rivalries  and 
internal  quarrels,  by  their  proscribing  all  that 
might  have  helped  them  in  their  intellectual  de- 
velopment and  scientific  progress,  they  in  their 
turn  fell  short  of  what  might  have  been  expected 
from  them,  is  not  for  us  to  question  here.  We 
must  not  pass  on,  however,  without  touching  on 
the  two  great  personalities  of  St.  Dominic 66  and 
of  St.  Francis.67  Both  were  great  men;  they 
were  very  different  from  each  other ;  and  there  is 

ee  d    122i.  87d.  1226. 


46    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

no  doubt  that,  of  the  two,  St.  Francis  was  by  far 
the  more  attractive  and  prepossessing.  "  There 
was  no  magnetic  power  of  love  in  Dominic  to  draw 
men  to  him,  even  while  zeal  and  goodness  directed 
his  labours,' '  says  Professor  Herkless;69  "he 
lacked  the  one  thing  needful,  whatever  it  was, 
which  Francis  had,  to  make  captive  the  heart/ ' 
Nevertheless  it  is  a  fact  that  in  an  age  when  the 
people  were  ignorant  of  the  Bible,  when  the  priests 
of  the  Church  were  dumb,  he  trained  men  to 
preach,  and  he  himself  preached  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ;  and  if  Dominicans  went  beyond  the 
limits  when  they  tried  to  suffocate  the  heretics  in 
blood  by  means  of  the  Inquisition,  "  the  founder 
of  their  Order  was  wise  when  he  taught  them  that 
heresy  must  be  met  by  learning  and  educated  wis- 
dom, and  was  strong  when  he  organised  a  company 
of  men  well  trained  in  theology  and  sent  them  forth 
to  meet  the  critics  and  enemies  of  the  Church." 69 
11  St.  Francis,' '  says  Sabatier,  "  was  par  excel- 
lence the  saint  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Owing  nothing 
either  to  the  Church  or  to  the  School,  he  was 
truly  a  theodidacte.  .  .  .  If  we  search  for  the 
origin  of  his  ideas,  we  shall  find  it  absolutely 

'"Francis  and  Dominio  and   the   Mendicant   Orders,   by  John 
Herkless,    D.D. 

"John  Herkless,  D.D.:  Ibid. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  47 

among  the  people  of  his  time;  and  it  is  just  on 
account  of  this,  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  he  incarnates  the  Italian  soul  just 
as  Dante  incarnates  it  a  century  later.  He  was 
of  the  people,  and  the  people  recognised  them- 
selves in  him.  He  possessed  their  poetry,  their 
inspirations ;  the  claims  of  the  people  he  made  his 
own  claims.  ...  As  far  as  his  attitude  before 
the  Church  is  concerned,  it  was  the  attitude  of  an 
obedient  son.  This  may  sound  strange,  speaking 
as  we  do  of  a  preacher  who  had  not  been  sent, 
but  who  was  speaking  to  the  world  in  the  name 
of  his  own  personal  and  immediate  inspiration. 
.  .  .  But  for  men  like  St.  Francis  the  Church 
was  what  our  fatherland  is  for  us ;  we  may  wish 
to  overturn  the  government,  to  upset  the  adminis- 
tration, to  change  the  Constitution;  yet,  in  spite 
of  all  this,  we  do  not  believe  ourselves  to  be  in 
the  least  less  loyal  to  our  country.  In  like  man- 
ner, in  those  ages  of  a  faith  so  naive,  when  re- 
ligious beliefs  seemed  to  be  rooted  in  the  very 
flesh  of  humanity,  Dante  could  attack  the  clergy 
and  the  Roman  Court  with  violence  such  as  has 
never  been  surpassed,  and  at  the  same  time  re- 
main a  good  Catholic.  St.  Francis  so  strongly 
believed  that  the  Church  had  been  untrue  to  her 
calling,  that  in  his  symbolic  language  he  spoke 


48    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

of  the  widowhood  of  his  Dame  Poverty,  who,  from 
Christ  to  his  own  time,  had  not  found  a  bride- 
groom. How  could  he  better  have  declared  his 
projects  and  made  others  divine  his  dreams? 
What  he  wanted  was  far  more  than  the  foundation 
of  an  Order.  We  wrong  him  when  we  so  restrict 
his  attempt.  He  wanted  a  true  revival  of  the 
Church  in  the  name  of  that  evangelical  ideal  which 
he  had  found  anew. ' ' 70 

Among  the  voices  which  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Church  were  raised  to  protest  against  the  abuses 
of  Papacy  and  to  unmask  the  vices  of  the  clergy, 
we  have  to  record  the  creator  of  the  great  Italian 
national  poetry  (whom  I  have  already  alluded  to 
in  quoting  Sabatier) :  Dante  Alighieri,71  I  mean, 
the  "  voice  of  ten  silent  centuries,' '  the  poet  who 
sings  us  "  his  mystic  unfathomable  song.,,  72  To 
his  divine  Poem  Italians  have  had  recourse  in  all 
times,  when,  crushed  by  political  or  spiritual 
tyranny,  they  longed  for  an  inspired  word  of  cour- 
age, of  concord,  of  trust  in  their  own  spurned 
dignity  or  in  the  coming  unity  of  their  own  be- 
loved country. 

With   Dante,    Francesco    Petrarca 73    may    be 

T0Paul  Sabatier:   Vie  de  S.  Francois  d' Assise   (Introduction). 
T1  1265-1321. 

™  Tieck,  quoted  by  Carlyle  in  Lectures  on  Heroes,  "  The  hero  as 
poet^Dante."  78 1304-1374. 


Dawn  of  Christianity  in  Rome  49 

recorded ;  he  was  inferior  to  Dante  as  a  poet  and 
as  a  man  of  character,  but  he  also  protested 
against  Eome.  His  indignation  may  not  always 
have  burst  from  the  deep  anguish  of  his  heart ;  it 
was  more  often  a  kind  of  academic  indignation 
poured  forth  in  magniloquent  Latin  prose  or  in 
most  elegant,  harmonious  sonnets;  but  still,  he 
too,  when  necessary,  knew  how  to  be  terrible;  as 
when  he  called  the  See  of  the  Popes : 

"A  school  of  errors,  a  temple  of  heresy; 
Rome,  once;  now  false,  wicked  Babylon, 
Hell  of  the  living " ,4 

However,  all  those  cries  of  denunciation  against 
Papacy  and  the  clergy  had  not  yet  been  able  to 
find  their  way  into  the  conscience  of  the  people; 
but  the  subtle  and  biting  raillery  with  which 
Giovanni  Boccaccio,75  the  maker  of  Italian  prose, 
scourged  to  death  the  vices  and  the  scandalous 
life  of  the  priests,  of  the  friars,  and  of  the  nuns 
of  his  time,  quickly  and  most  effectively  reached 

74Fontana  di  dolore,  albergo  d'ira, 
Scola  d'errori,  e   tempio  d'eresia; 
Gia  Roma,  or  Babilonia  falsa  e  ria, 
Per  cui  tanto  si  piagne  e  si  sospira: 
O  fueina  d'inganni,  o  prigion  d'ira, 
Ove'l  ben  more,  e'l  mal  si  mitre  e  cria; 
Di  vivi  inferno;   un  gran  miracol  fia 
Se  Cristo  teco  al  fine  non  s'adira. 
™  1313-1375. 


50    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

the  popular  conscience.  Raillery  was  the  mighti- 
est weapon  that  could  be  used  to  hasten  the  fall 
of  that  spiritual  power  which,  trusting  in  the 
strength  of  princes,  had  for  centuries  caused  hu- 
manity to  weep  and  to  moan.  And  no  man,  with 
the  exception  perhaps  of  Aristophanes,  ever  knew 
how  to  make  use  of  the  ridiculous,  with  better  skill 
than  did  Boccaccio.  So,  in  those  classical  times 
when  humanity  was  coming  out  of  the  terrors  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  and  Dante,  by  setting  reason 
and  science  against  religious  authority,  was  giving 
the  signal  of  a  great  revolution,  the  dissolute  life 
of  the  clergy,  and  the  sharp  raillery  of  the  merry 
story-teller,  completed  the  work  by  making  the 
way  smooth  for  Martin  Luther  and  his  great 
reformation. 


n 


THE  PROTESTANT  REVOLUTION  AND 
ITS  ECHO  IN  ITALY 


II 


THE  PROTESTANT  EEVOLUTION  AND 
ITS  ECHO  IN  ITALY 

DANTE  ALIGHIERI  is  rightly  considered 
still  a  man  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  but  with 
Francesco  Petrarca,  whom  Pasquale  Vil- 
lari  has  called  "  the  first  modern  man,"  we  are 
already  in  the  Renaissance;  in  the  time  of  the 
revival  of  ancient  classical  influences  which  took 
its  rise  in  Italy  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies, and  which  moved  the  whole  of  Europe. 
This  Renaissance  gave,  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
a  last  and  fatal  blow  to  the  religious  belief  which, 
at  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  referred  to  in 
the  previous  chapter,  we  had  left  in  a  dying  con- 
dition. 

When  the  Mohammedans  began  to  occupy  the 
cities  of  the  Greek  Empire,  especially  after  Mo- 
hammed II  had  taken  Constantinople,  many 
learned  men  who  preferred  exile  to  subjection  to 
those  conquerors  came  to  Italy,  bringing  with 
them  a  quantity  of  old  manuscripts;  they  settled 

53 


5-i    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

down  in  the  principal  Academies,  and  were  at  once 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  literati.  The  fifteenth 
was  a  century  of  great  decline  in  Italian  literature 
and  art ;  and  the  more  intellectual  minds,  eager  to 
preserve  both  literature  and  art,  saw  no  other  way 
of  doing  so  than  by  going  back  to  the  ancient 
classics.  In  consequence,  during  that  century,  the 
want  of  originality  was  as  great  as  the  want  of  be- 
lief. Many  went  to  excess,  and  were  possessed  by 
a  frenzy  for  servile  imitation.  "  It  looked  as 
if  Italians,' '  says  Pasquale  Villari,  "  did  not 
wish  so  much  to  imitate  the  old  world  as  to  sum- 
mon it  from  its  grave  and  make  it  live  again ;  in  so 
doing  they  felt  they  were  coming  back  to  them- 
selves, and  entering,  as  it  were,  into  a  second  life : 
a  regeneration.  .  .  .  They  worked,  therefore,  with 
unremitting  energy,  but,  in  doing  so,  their  re- 
ligious sentiment  vanished,  their  moral  sense  got 
weaker  and  weaker,  and  the  worship  of  form  grew 
in  them  to  the  detriment  of  substance;  a  failing, 
which  we  see  reappearing  for  centuries  in  Italian 
literature.  .  .  .  When  the  historian  considers  such 
wonderful  intellectual  activity  which  reproduces 
itself  in  a  thousand  different  forms,  always  grow- 
ing richer  and  more  brilliant,  and  at  the  same 
time  always  followed  by  evident  moral  decline, 
he  feels  dismayed,  as  if  in  the  presence  of  a  mys- 


The  Protestant  Revolution  55 

terious  contradiction  pregnant  of  future  woe. 
When  the  evil  that  inwardly  torments  this  people 
comes  to  the  surface,  a  terrible  catastrophe  is 
inevitable. ' '  * 

The  mysterious  contradiction  alluded  to  by  Pas- 
quale  Villari  will  not  escape  the  notice  of  the  in- 
vestigator of  this  period.  The  Renaissance  found 
faithful  disciples  among  the  heads  of  the  clergy, 
and  "  erudition  itself,"  says  Villari,2  "  ascended 
the  cathedra  of  Peter,  with  Pope  Nicholas  V. ' ' 8 
These  ecclesiastics  used  to  meet  in  the  Vatican,  in 
a  hall  which  they  themselves  called  "  the  Work- 
shop of  Lies  ";  and  here  the  Tuscan  Poggio  Brac- 
ciolini  used  to  entertain  the  meeting  with  his  ob- 
scene "  Jests."  In  the  field  of  art  we  know  that 
Perugino,  the  master  of  Raphael,  did  not  believe 
in  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  that  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  the  painter  of  the  "  Cenacolo,"  always 
doubted  the  truth  of  Roman  Catholicism;  that 
Titian  drew  the  inspiration  for  his  "  Assump- 
tion "  from  the  daughters  of  Pietro  Aretino;  and 
that  the  original  of  many  of  Raphael's  "  Ma- 
donne  "  is  to  be  found  in  the  trivial  and  lustful 
figure  of  the  Fornarina.    "  In  the  life  of  the 

1  Pasquale  Villari :  Niccold  Afachiavelli  e  i  suoi  tempi.    Firenze, 
1874.    See  E.  Comba  in  Intr.  alia  St.  delta  Rif.  in  Italia. 
2 Pasquale  Villari:    Ibid. 
8  1447-1455. 


56    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

artists  of  that  time  everything  is  inconsistent  and 
contradictory,' '  writes  Guerzoni.  "  They  spend 
half  their  days  painting  Madonnas  and  dying 
Christs,  in  laying  out  plans  for  new  churches,  in 
painting  frescoes  in  chapels  and  convents ;  and  the 
other  half,  in  leading  a  debauched  life.  Their 
sculptures  and  their  paintings  are  the  glorifica- 
tion of  faith ;  but  more  often  not  a  spark  of  faith 
illuminates  their  soul.  As  artists,  they  are  in 
heaven ;  as  men,  they  are  on  earth,  and  very  often 
in  the  lowest  part  of  it.  No  one  knows  what  they 
believed.  There  is  a  partition,  a  division,  a  gap 
in  their  soul.  Between  what  they  do  and  what 
they  think  there  is  an  abyss." 4  At  that  time  the 
Church  of  St.  Peter  was  being  built  in  Eome.  It 
was  a  masterpiece  of  art,  but  at  the  same  time  it 
was  an  absolute  negation  of  genuine  Christian 
sentiment.  Edmondo  de  Amicis,  writing  his  im- 
pressions after  seeing  it,  said :  l '  A  seducing  mag- 
nificence, a  fascinating  splendour,  but  not  an  in- 
spiring grandeur.  There,  one  gets  the  impression 
more  of  a  theatre  than  of  a  church. ' ' 5  And  Taine, 
also,  when  thinking  of  it,  wrote:  "  Never  was  a 
Christian  God  worshipped  in  such  a  pagan  way."  6 
Paganism  triumphed  in  the  field  of  philosophy 

*  Guerzoni :  Michelangelo  credente.    Quoted  from  E.  Comba. 
6  De  Amicis:  Impressioni  di  Roma.  Quoted  from  E.  Comba. 
0 Taine:    Voyage  en  Italic 


The  Protestant  Kevolution  57 

with  Aristotle  and  Plato;  and  the  triumph  of 
Paganism  was  followed  by  the  downfall  of  theol- 
ogy. What  chance  could  theology  ever  have  when, 
in  Eome,  the  Popes  themselves  lived  a  life  which 
was  the  most  shameless  insult  to  Christianity? 
Nicholas  V,  who,  at  the  beginning  of  this  age,  had 
been  the  great  patron  of  the  Eenaissance,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Sixtus  IV,7  who  made  a  market  of  the 
Church,  filled  Italy  with  blood  so  as  to  insure  some 
sovereignty  or  other  for  his  sons  and  nephews, 
kindled  the  conspiracy  of  the  Pazzi,  and  caused 
Giuliano  de'  Medici8  to  be  murdered  in  Florence 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar  in  the  Cathedral,  at  the 
moment  of  the  elevation  of  the  Host.  Sixtus  IV 
was  followed  by  Innocent  VIII,9  a  man  simoniacal 
and  greedy,  living  a  life  so  debauched,  that  the 
very  name  of  Innocent  which  he  assumed,  made 
people  laugh  as  if  he  had  intended  it  as  a  joke. 
And  Innocent's  successor  was  Alexander  VI,10  the 
Nero  of  Papacy;  the  man  who  made  the  whole  of 
Rome  shudder  for  fear  of  assassination,  had  but 
one  aim  in  life:  to  enrich  his  numerous  family, 
and,  above  all,  his  son  Cesare,  the  most  abandoned 
wretch  that  ever  lived,  of  whom  it  has  been  said : 
' '  He  gave  audience  to  nobody  but  to  the  execu- 
tioners he  employed.' '     So  that  it  is  not  to  be 

7 1471-1484.      81478.     8 1484-1492.      10 1492-1503. 


58    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

wondered  at  if  Niccolo  Machiavelli 1X  was  led  to 
write  the  following  memorable  words:  "  The  na- 
tions nearest  to  the  Roman  Church,  the  head  of  our 
religion,  have  the  least  religion  of  all.  ...  On 
account  of  the  evil  example  of  the  Roman  Court, 
Italy  has  lost  all  devotion  and  religion.  .  .  .  We 
Italians  owe,  therefore,  to  the  Church  and  to  the 
priests  the  fact  of  our  having  become  irreligious 
andbad.,,12 


11  The  pagan  revival,"  says  Professor  Allen, 
1 '  had  to  be  followed  by  a  Christian  revival,  which 
we  term  the  Reformation,  or  the  last  state  of  man- 
kind would  be  worse  than  the  first.  Culture  and 
refinement  can  never  take  the  place  of  the  strenu- 
ous thing  we  call  Virtue.  Whatever  we  hold  to  be 
the  source  of  the  Moral  Law,  of  Christianity  not 
as  a  creed  or  ceremony  but  as  a  spirit  and  life,  it 
is  the  only  salvation  mankind  has  found  as  yet 
from  those  horrors  of  ancient  society  against 
which  its  first  revelation  was  made;  horrors  to 
which  Learning  itself  may  open  the  door,  and  Art 
can  only  decorate  the  way."  13 

A  first  attempt  to  reform  the  Church  was  made 

u  1469-1527.  "  Machiavelli :   Discorsi,  L.  I,  C.   12. 

UJ.  H.  Allen:   Christian  History;  2d  vol.,  "The  Middle  Age." 


The  Protestant  Kevolution  59 

by  the  Church  herself;  and  in  this  classic  year, 
1400,  three  Councils  were  held,  of  which  history 
has  handed  down  the  record  to  us  by  the  name  of 
Keform  Councils.  They  are :  the  Councils  of  Pisa, 
Constance,  and  Bale. 

What  was  their  practical  result?  Here  it  is 
summed  up  in  a  few  words. 

The  arrogant  claims  of  Boniface  VIII  soon  led 
to  a  violent  conflict  with  the  French  King  Philip 
IV,  resulting  in  the  Pope's  imprisonment  and 
death.14  Two  years  later,  a  French  Cardinal,  on 
being  elected  Pope  as  Clement  V,  removed  the 
Papal  Court  to  Avignon;  whence  the  Babylonian 
Captivity,  which  lasted  seventy  years,15  and  pre- 
sented the  spectacle  of  two  Popes :  one  at  Avignon, 
the  other  at  Some.16  To  remove  the  scandal,  the 
Council  of  Pisa  was  convened,  which,  after  con- 
demning the  two  absent  Popes  as  guilty  of  heresy, 
deposed  them  and  appointed  a  new  Pope  who 
assumed  the  name  of  Alexander  V,  an  aged  monk, 
who  died  within  a  year  of  his  election.  Thus  the 
practical  result  of  the  Council  of  Pisa17  was  to 
leave  the  Church  with  three  Popes  instead  of  two. 

14 1303.  1S 1309-1378. 

"In  Rome:  Urban  VI  (1378-1389),  then  Boniface  IX  (1389- 
1404),  then  Innocent  VII  (1404-1406),  and  Gregory  XII  (1406- 
1410). 

In  Avignon:  Clement  VII  (1378-1394),  then  Benedict  XIII 
(1394-1424).  "1409. 


60    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Alexander  V  was  succeeded  by  a  Neapolitan, 
possessed  of  political  ability  and  daring,  but  no- 
torious for  many  crimes,  who  assumed  the  name  of 
John  XXIII.  This  man,  impelled  by  the  Emperor 
Sigismund,  summoned  the  Council  of  Constance, 
which  sat  four  years.18  The  whole  work  of  this 
second  Council  may  be  summed  up  as  follows. 
It  condemned  44  propositions  from  the  writings 
of  Wiclif,  sentenced  John  Huss  to  be  burned,19 
condemned  Jerome  of  Prague,  who  was  burned 
upon  the  same  spot  as  John  Huss,  whose  zealous 
and  eloquent  coadjutor  he  had  been.20  John 
XXIII,  charged  by  the  Council  with  the  manifold 
crimes  of  his  life,  was  deposed  and  compelled  to 
abdicate.  Otto  Colonna  was  chosen  as  his  suc- 
cessor, and  took  the  name  of  Martin  V.21  "  The 
new  Pope,"  says  Professor  Gr.  P.  Fisher,  "  soon 
showed  his  real  attitude  towards  the  reform  move- 
ment. He  sanctioned  the  abuses  on  which  the 
Roman  Court  had  flourished  during  the  reign  of 
John  XXIII,  and  before  the  Council  was  dis- 
solved, asserted  the  papal  supremacy  in  terms 
which  contradicted  the  doctrine  of  conciliar  au- 
thority, which  had  been  solemnly  promulgated 
in  its  fourth  and  fifth  sessions.    The  members  of 

18 1414-1418.  "July  6,  1415.  "May,  1416. 

"November  11,  1417. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  61 

the  Council,  wearied  by  their  long-continued  and 
apparently  futile  labours,  were  in  no  mood  to 
withstand  the  schemes  or  pretensions  of  the  Pope. 
They  satisfied  themselves  with  a  decree  embody- 
ing a  few  reforms  upon  which  they  were  all 
united,  and  voted  to  leave  the  rest  to  be  arranged 
in  concordats  with  the  several  nations.  The  sub- 
stantial failure  of  this  Council  to  achieve  reforms 
which  thoughtful  and  good  men  everywhere 
deemed  indispensable,  was  a  proof  that  some  more 
radical  means  of  reformation  would  have  to  be 
found.,,22 

The  last  attempt  to  reform  was  made  during 
the  Papacy  of  Eugene  IV,23  by  the  Council  of 
Bale,  which  sat  ineffectually  for  eighteen  years.24 
The  Council  was  assembled  by  Martin  V,  who, 
however,  died  on  his  way  to  attend  it;  his  suc- 
cessor, Eugene  IV,  did  his  best  to  procure  its  dis- 
solution. The  only  act  of  importance  framed  by 
the  Council  was  a  compromise  with  the  Hussites.25 
It  was  crippled  by  the  hostility  of  the  Pope,  whom 
it  attempted  to  depose,26  but  without  effect.  The 
Popes  showed  themselves  hostile  to  the  so-called 

22  G.  P.  Fisher:  History  of  the  Christian  Church. 

23 1431-1447.  *  1431-1449. 

25  The  use  of  the  cup  (calix)  by  the  laity  in  the  Eucharist  was 
granted  as  a  compromise  at  the  Council  of  Bale  (1433),  and  is 
still  enjoyed  in  Bohemia.  26 1435. 


62    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Reform  Councils ;  especially  to  those  of  Constance 
and  Bale;  which  makes  it  clear  that,  personally, 
they  neither  wanted  the  reform  of  the  Church,  nor 
were  inclined  to  allow  the  Councils  to  succeed. 
Did  they  at  least  encourage  the  several  men  who 
were  doing  all  in  their  power  to  institute  reform! 
Alas,  the  eloquent  answer  to  this  is  given  by  the 
dying  fifteenth  century,  which  witnessed  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  Girolamo  Savonarola.27  "  What  is 
called  the  irony  of  history,' '  says  Professor  Allen, 
1 '  has  no  more  tragic  example  than  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  last  great  preacher  of  ecclesiastical 
righteousness  by  the  most  profligate  of  Popes. 
Savonarola  was  tortured,  strangled,  and  burned 
by  sentence  of  Alexander  Borgia.  .  .  .  Sacerdotal 
Christianity  was  thus  fatally  dishonoured;  but 
the  forces  were  already  in  training,  which  in  the 
next  century  were  to  deliver  their  assault  under 
the  new  banner  of  Salvation  by  Faith."28 


So  we  come  to  the  glorious  sixteenth  century, 
during  which  Italy  witnessed  romantic  epic  poetry 
brought  to  the  height  of  its  lustre  by  Lodovico 

"May  23,  1498. 

28  J.  H.  Allen:  Christian  History;  2d  vol.,  "The  Middle  Age." 


The  Protestant  Revolution  63 

Ariosto ; 20  the  art  of  history  brought  to  ligM  by 
Machiavelli,30  Guicciardini,31  and  a  crowd  of  other 
minor  men ;  and  the  fine  arts,  painting  especially, 
which  were  protected  by  Popes  32  and  princes, 
brought  to  a  height  of  perfection  by  the  architect 
Bramante,  Raphael,  the  king  of  painters,  Leo- 
nardo da  Vinci,  Andrea  del  Sarto,  Antonio  Allegri 
da  Correggio,  and  Michelangelo,  called  "  the  man 
with  four  souls  ' '  on  account  of  his  being  a  sculp- 
tor, painter,  architect,  and  poet. 

But  the  times  were  bad.  The  end  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  had  seen  Italy  invaded  by  foreign- 
ers; and  the  following  century  saw  Italy  in  the 
hands  of  princes  33  who  did  not  maintain  the  power 
and  dignity  of  their  position  but  only  its  name, 
and  who,  like  Cosimo  I  at  Florence,  after  having 
secured  for  themselves  dominion  over  their  States, 
favoured  fine  arts  and  learning  solely  to  make  the 
people  completely  forget  their  right  to  freedom. 
In  the  first  half  of  this  century  the  Renaissance, 

29 1474-1533.  so  1469-1527.  31 1483-1540. 

83  Julius  II  (1503-1513),  Leo  X  (1513-1521),  Clement  VII 
(1523-1534),  Paul  III  (1534-1549),  Gregory  XIII  (1572-1585), 
Sixtus   V    (1586-1590),   Clement  VIII    (1592-1605). 

83  In  Naples  and  in  Sicily,  Spain  through  two  viceregents.  In 
Florence,  the  Medici;  in  Ferrara,  and  later  on  at  Modena,  the 
Estensi.  In  Mantoa,  Guastalla  and  Padua,  the  Gonzaga.  In 
Urbino,  the  Montefeltro  and  the  Delia  Rovere.  In  Piedmont, 
Emanuel  Filiberto. 


64    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

as  far  as  literary  perfection  was  concerned,  had 
exerted  its  influence;  but  the  Italians,  unfortu- 
nately, derived  from  it  only  religious  indifference 
and  more  unrestrained  licentiousness  than  ever. 
In  the  works  of  Lodovico  Ariosto  we  feel  the  crav- 
ing for  pleasure;  and  when  he  speaks  of  Chris- 
tianity, we  perceive  at  once  that  the  poet  has  it 
only  in  his  mind ;  not  in  his  heart,  which  is  empty. 
In  the  works  of  Machiavelli  and  Guicciardini  we 
find  a  political  ideal  which  has  success  principally 
in  view,  without  any  moral  consideration.  Story- 
tellers and  dissolute  poets  abounded  more  than 
ever  at  that  time.  "  In  spite  of  all  this,"  says 
Piero  Misciattelli,  "  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of 
the  Italian  sixteenth  century,  which  was  per- 
meated with  beauty  and  humanistic  thought,  had 
become  unfit  to  breathe  for  all  those  who  had  a  soul. 
The  art  of  Michelangelo,  with  the  sad  meditations 
of  his  Prophets,  with  the  desperate  attitudes  of 
his  Prisoners,  with  the  religious  melancholy 
of  his  statue  l  Pieta,'  expressed  with  intensity 
the  unsatisfied  feeling  and  the  inward  strife 
of  the  few  souls  of  his  time,  who,  chained  to  the 
earth,  eagerly  desired  heavenly  things.  The  most 
powerful  manifestations  of  Michelangelo's  art  are 
but  the  cries  of  a  restive  genius  who  tries  to  free 
himself    from    the    classical   models    which   the 


The  Protestant  Ee volution  65 

Eenaissance  worshipped.  Michelangelo  was  a  de- 
stroyer of  idols.  He  moved  the  ocean  of  Thought. 
He  was  a  lover  of  war,  not  of  peace.  Vasari,  his 
friend,  understood  him  but  little;  his  disciples, 
small-minded  men,  only  saw  the  outward  forms 
of  his  art ;  Raphael,  a  sublime  lover  of  the  beau- 
tiful, hated  him  with  a  hatred  full  of  admiration ; 
the  Popes,  who  were  patrons  of  fine  arts,  appreci- 
ated Michelangelo  as  a  magnificent  decorator  of 
their  imperial  palace ;  princes  snatched  him  from 
each  other  as  a  builder  of  mausoleums.  Only  Vit- 
toria  Colonna,  with  the  intuition  of  her  inward 
eye  troubled  by  religious  inquietude,  saw  the  abyss 
of  despair  in  the  soul  of  the  old  artist;  and  for 
this  reason  did  Michelangelo  dedicate  to  her,  in 
love  sonnets,  his  own  spiritual  autobiography."34 
During  1494-1498,  Savonarola  entirely  changed 
the  mental  atmosphere  of  Florence;  and  this 
change  extended  into  the  field  of  art  and  is 
recorded  in  the  work  of  several  artists.  Sandro 
Botticelli,35  for  instance,  after  the  martyrdom  of 
Savonarola  ceased  to  paint  peaceful  Greek  god- 
desses and  classic  myths,  and  began  to  paint  Ma- 
donnas, in  whom  the  joy  of  the  "  Magnificat  "36 
completely  disappeared  to  give  room  to  the  inef- 

"Piero   Misciattelli:    Mistici  Senesi;   Chap.   VI,   "  B.    Ochino 
e  l'eresia  in  Siena." 

»s  1444-1510.  86  Painted  about  the  year   1465. 


66  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
fable  expression  of  pain  of  a  "  Mater  Dolorosa  ": 
11  not  of  her  beneath  the  cross,  but  of  a  young 
Mother  with  the  ever-present  sword  of  a  forebod- 
ing sorrow  piercing  her  heart,  with  the  knowledge 
of  what  was  to  come,  of  which  others  around  her 
were  ignorant,  and  in  which,  therefore,  they  could 
offered  her  no  sympathy  "; 37  a  Madonna,  such  as 
only  the  sermons  of  Fra  Girolamo  had  had  the 
power  to  inspire.  And  in  his  celebrated  picture  of 
"  Calumny, "  now  in  the  Uffizi  Gallery  of  Flor- 
ence,38 Botticelli  handed  down  to  us,  on  immortal 
canvas,  the  piteous  story  of  Savonarola's  martyr- 

»T  Colonel  G.  F.  Young,  C.B. :  The  Medici. 

,a  Steinmann  in  his  Botticelli  thus  describes  his  famous  picture: 
"  The  scene  is  laid  in  a  stately  judgment  hall  in  the  classic  style, 
on  the  decoration  of  which  every  resource  of  art  has  been  ex- 
pended. Between  its  lofty  arches  there  is  a  distant  view  of  a 
calm  sea;  life-sized  marble  figures  stand  in  the  niches  of  the 
pillars  of  the  hall  (like  the  figures  outside  Orsanmichele ) ,  and 
every  vacant  space  is  adorned  with  richly-gilded  sculpture.  It 
is  a  magnificent  Renaissance  building,  which  fancy  imagines  a 
place  in  which  wisdom  and  justice  alone  would  exist,  a  place 
of  refuge  in  which  poets  and  thinkers  may  prepare  new  in- 
tellectual achievements  as  they  walk  in  this  stately  portico  by 
the  sea.  Instead  of  this  we  witness  a  fearful  deed  of  violence. 
In  bitter  contrast  with  the  splendid  marble  all  round,  in  ironical 
mockery  of  the  solemn  statues  of  justice  and  virtue  on  the  walls, 
a  noisy  throng  is  dragging  the  innocent  victim  of  calumny  be- 
fore the  tribunal  of  the  Unjust  Judge,  who  sits  with  crown  and 
sceptre  on  a  richly-decorated  throne.  Two  female  figures,  Igno- 
rance and  Suspicion,  whisper  in  the  long  ass's  ears  of  the  Unjust 
Judge,  while  in  front  of  him  Envy  declaims  with  imperious  force. 
With  his  right  hand  Envy  leads  Calumny,  who  holds  a  burning 
torch  before  her  as  a  treacherous  symbol  of  her  pretended  love  of 


The  Protestant  Kevolution  67 

dom.39  Thus,  towards  the  decline  of  the  century, 
while  licentiousness  in  writing  seemed  to  have 
become  more  moderate,  or  at  least  not  so  bare- 
faced, the  writers  appeared  more  serious  and 


truth.  She  dashes  impetuously  forward,  with  her  left  hand 
grasping  mercilessly  the  hair  of  her  victim,  who  lies  on  the 
ground  stripped  naked,  with  his  folded  hands  raised  to  heaven 
in  assertion  of  his  innocence.  Calumny's  appearance  is  plausible 
and  crafty;  her  clothing  is  costly,  and  her  two  attendants,  Fraud 
and  Deception,  are  busy  twining  fresh  roses  in  her  golden  hair. 
Behind  these  (as  what  follows  from  injustice  and  cruelty)  comes 
the  tormentor  Remorse,  a  hideous  hag  clothed  from  head  to  foot 
in  ragged  mourning  attire,  who,  clasping  her  trembling  hands 
before  her,  turns  her  face  round  over  her  shoulder,  to  look  at 
the  figure  behind  her  of  naked  Truth  (a  slim  female  figure 
recalling  Botticelli's  Venus),  who  gazes  upwards  and  lifts  her 
right  hand  to  heaven  in  adjuration  against  the  scene  of  in- 
justice, cruelty,  and  wrong."  (Quoted  from  Colonel  G.  F. 
Young's  The  Medici.) 

89 See  Colonel  G.  F.  Young's  The  Medici:  "At  first  sight  this 
picture  repels  us  by  its  strange  scene  of  grotesque  violence;  but 
it  has  its  meaning  in  the  history  of  the  time.  For  in  this  picture 
Botticelli  writes,  for  those  who  may  come  after,  the  story  of  how 
Savonarola  was  done  to  death.  In  the  stately  Renaissance  hall, 
the  refuge  for  poets  and  philosophers,  with  its  solemn  statues  of 
Wisdom  and  Justice,  and  its  profuse  decoration  by  Art,  Botti- 
celli represents  Florence  as  for  sixty  years  it  had  been.  In  the 
Unjust  Judge,  with  his  ass's  ears,  seated  on  a  throne  with 
crown  and  sceptre  which  he  is  not  fit  to  bear,  and  in  the  scene 
of  violence  enacted  in  front  of  him,  the  painter  represents  the 
government  of  Florence  as  it  had  become;  still  occupying  the 
localities  where  such  different  sentiments  had  once  prevailed.  In 
the  figures  of  Ignorance  and  Suspicion,  Envy  and  Calumny,  Fraud 
and  Deception,  he  represents  the  motives  and  the  methods  which 
had  prevailed  to  put  to  death  their  victim,  Savonarola.  While 
the  figures  of  Remorse  and  Truth  embody  Botticelli's  prophecy  of 
what  shall  afterwards  follow." 


68    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

thoughtful,  and  here  and  there  some  poet  did  not 
disdain  to  choose  a  Christian  subject  for  his 
rhymes,  until  the  reawakening  of  the  Moslem 
wrath  against  Europe  and  the  subsequent  victory 
of  Lepanto 40  kindled  anew  in  many  the  desire  to 
fight  the  Crusades  over  again,  and  Torquato 
Tasso41  was  moved  to  describe  "  the  deliverance 
of  Jerusalem  ";  Torquato  Tasso,  who  expressed 
in  verse  the  revival  of  Christian  sentiments  and 
the  dejection  and  sadness  of  the  Italian  people,  bet- 
ter than  any  other  writer  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Meanwhile  what  were  the  Popes  doing? 

Alexander  VI,  of  vile  memory,  died  in  1503. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Pius  III,  but  only  for  twenty- 
six  days;  then  succeeded  Julius  II  (1503-1513),  an 
irritable  and  ambitious  Pontiff,  a  man  more  fitted 
for  the  sword  than  the  tiara,  who  was  Pope  only 
in  name  and  habiliments;  he  was  followed  by 
Leo  X,42  the  Medicean  Pope,  whose  love  of  fine 
arts,  science,  luxury,  pleasure,  hunting,  and  plays, 
was  only  surpassed  by  his  carelessness  for  re- 
ligion. During  the  reigns  of  Julius  II  and  Leo 
X  a  Council  was  held,  known  as  the  fifth  Lateran 
Council.43  This  ought  to  have  answered  the  cry 
of  ecclesiastics  and  laymen  for  the  repression  of 

40 1571.  41 1544-1595.  "1513-1521. 

"Opened  in  1512  by  Julius  II. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  69 

the  most  scandalous  abuses,  for  a  barrier  to  stop 
the  ever-rising  torrent  of  corruption.  But  alas ! 
the  Council,  composed  of  95  bishops,  all  Italians, 
did  nothing  but  annul  the  decisions  of  the  Council 
of  Pisa,44  cause  the  subjects  of  France  to  rebel 
against  their  King,  decree  that  the  soul  is  im- 
mortal (and  surely  there  was  much  need  of  it,  if, 
as  Francesco  de  Sanctis  has  said,  Leo  X  himself 
was  a  materialist) ; 45  and  having,  or  believing  that 
it  had  nothing  else  of  importance  to  do,  busied 
itself  with  the  grave  matter  of  the  removal  of  an 
annual  fair  from  Lyons  to  Grenoble ! 4S 

But  if  a  kind  of  slumberous  spirit  had  invaded 
Pope,  Cardinals,  and  Councils,  God  was  not  slum- 
bering; and  the  Lateran  Council  had  just  closed 
when  the  first  crash  of  the  Reformation  resounded. 
That  was  in  1517.  With  Martin  Luther  and  his 
ninety-five  Theses  concerning  the  lawfulness  of 
Indulgences,  dawned  the  era  of  the  Protestant 
Reformation.47 


My  aim  here  is  not  to  study  the  origin,  the 
spirit,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Reformation 
in  the  land  where  it  was  born  and  from  whence  it 

44 1409. 

"Francesco  de  Sanctis:   Leziom  sopra  il  Cinquecento. 

*°  3d  Session,  *  3 Jst  of  October,  1517. 


70    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

spread  its  shining  light  throughout  Europe.  In 
the  nineteenth  century,  par  excellence  "  the  cen- 
tury of  criticism/ '  critics  did  not  spare  the  move- 
ment which  has  been  called  "  the  Protestant  revo- 
lution.' '  Even  the  critics  of  the  most  radical 
school,  however,  who  consider  the  Protestant 
Reformation  as  "  one  of  the  great  calamities  of 
human  history,' '  are  obliged  to  admit  that  it  was 
the  Church  of  Rome  which  made  such  a  calamity 
"  unavoidable,"  and  must  recognise  that  Luther 
made  men  aware  of  a  new  relation  in  which  they 
stood  before  God  and  all  divine  realities.  "  Lu- 
ther," says  Professor  Allen,  "  carried  them  right 
back  to  the  Bible  itself,  especially  to  the  Psalms 
and  Epistles,  in  which  they  found  the  very  foun- 
tain-head of  religious  truth.  All  the  enormous 
mass  of  tradition,  ceremony,  penance,  that  had  in- 
tervened, was  suddenly  swept  away,  as  a  mist  by 
a  gust  of  wind;  and  there  was  opened  to  them, 
very  literally,  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  quite 
hidden  from  them  till  then.  They,  too,  were  face 
to  face  with  the  Infinite.  In  the  joy  and  strength 
of  that  thought,  they  were  emancipated  from  the 
yoke  of  fear."48 

The  German  Reformation  found  a  powerful 
echo  on  the  Italian  side  of  the  Alps;  and  after 

48 J.  H.  Allen:  Christian  History;  3d  vol.,  "Christian  Phases." 


The  Protestant  Eevolution  71 

having  called  the  Italians  back  from  the  wild  and 
noisy  way  of  living  of  the  century  of  Leo  X  to  the 
earnestness  of  life  and  to  the  consideration  of  the 
great  spiritual  problems,  it  opened  to  them  a  new 
horizon:  vistas  of  emancipation  from  all  illegiti- 
mate authority  and  of  subjection  to  Christ  only, 
the  head  of  the  true  Church. 

There  were  causes,  in  Italy,  that  paved  the  way 
for  this  movement,  and  causes  that  brought  it 
about. 

The  way  was  prepared  by  the  spirit  of  the  peo- 
ple who,  by  individual  and  collective  protests,  had 
several  times  shown  that  they  knew  how  to  shake 
off  the  yoke  of  the  spiritually  arrogant  power  of 
Eome.  Let  it  be  sufficient,  as  far  as  individual 
protests  are  concerned,  to  recall  the  names  of 
Claudius  of  Turin,  of  Arnaldo  da  Brescia,  of  Sa- 
vonarola ;  and  as  far  as  the  collective  protests  are 
concerned,  let  us  only  mention  the  Milanese  epis- 
copacy which  refused  to  recognise  the  primacy  of 
the  bishops  of  Eome,  although  that  primacy  had 
already  been  imposed  on  the  remotest  churches  of 
the  West;49  not  only  that,  but  it  also  dared  to 
resist  Gregory  VII  in  the  delicate  question  of  the 


49  It  was  not  until  the  eleventh  century  that  the  Popes  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  their  authority  in  Milan  and  induced  the 
Milanese  archbishops  to  ask  for  their  "  pallium  "  from  Rome. 


72    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

celibacy  of  the  clergy.50  It  was  prepared  by  the 
Renaissance,  when  the  writings  of  the  Fathers 
were  brought  to  light  and  compared  with  the  creed 
of  the  Church,  and  when  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  were  studied  in  their 
original  languages;  so  that  the  renovated  knowl- 
edge of  the  sources  of  Christian  doctrine  revealed 
the  differences  between  the  native  simplicity  of 
the  Gospel  and  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tem which  professed  to  be  founded  upon  it. 
Finally,  the  way  was  opened  to  the  new  revolu- 
tionary ideas  by  the  invention  of  the  press,  by 
which  means  their  propagation  was  made  possible. 
The  causes  which  brought  about  the  reform 
movement  in  Italy  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 
the  religious  corruption  of  the  times;  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Bible,  which,  in  Italy,  in  the  first  half 
of  the  sixteenth  century  was,  as  we  shall  see, 
studied  more  than  is  generally  believed ;  the  fre- 
quent interchange  of  correspondence  between  the 
two  countries ;  the  presence  of  German  students  in 
Italian  universities,  and  of  students  from  Italy  in 
universities  in  Germany.  Even  the  war  between 
Charles  V  and  Francis  I  brought  to  Italy  many 
adherents  to  the  Reformation  who,  with  the  en- 

60  In  1074  the  Milanese  clergy  opposed  the  decree  of  Gregory 
VII  forbidding  marriage  to  the  priests. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  73 

thusiasm  of  the  neophyte  and  with  the  boldness  of 
the  soldier,  quickly  spread  the  new  doctrines. 


What  about  the  extension  and  the  importance 
of  the  Reform  movement  in  Italy? 

"  In  Italy,' '  wrote  Voltaire,  "  very  few  fol- 
lowed Luther;  the  Italian  people,  ingenious,  and 
busy  with  intrigues  and  pleasures,  kept  themselves 
aloof  from  that  agitation."  51  The  staunch  Ro- 
man Catholic  Cantu,  however,  thought  otherwise, 
for  he  said :  ' '  Although  the  love  for  the  new  ideas 
did  not  carry  away  either  the  people  or  the 
princes,  and  although  those  who  were  anxious 
about  the  condition  of  their  own  belief  were  very 
few,  compared  with  the  number  of  those  who  lived 
believing  without  ever  analysing  their  creed,  yet, 
he  who  thinks  that  the  Reformation  had  neither 
extension  nor  civil  and  political  consequences  on 
this  side  of  the  Alps,  makes  a  great  mistake."  52 
Facts  amply  show  that  Cantu  was  right.  To  prove 
the  truth  of  my  assertion  I  ask  you  to  follow  me  in 
my  rapid  flight  over  the  beautiful  peninsula. 

To  the  north  is  Locarno,  on  the  enchanting 
Lago  Maggiore.    There  in  1526,  that  is  to  say,  nine 

81  For  more  details  see  McCrie :  La  Riforma  in  Italia. 
83  C.  Can  til:  Gli  eretici  d' Italia.    Quoted  from  McCrie. 


74    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

years  after  Luther's  Theses,  Baldassarre  Fontana 
sowed  the  first  seed  of  the  Reformation  which  the 
Locarnese  apostle,  Giovanni  Beccaria,  nurtured 
and  surrounded  with  loving  care  until  it  developed 
into  a  united  and  zealous  church.  Turn  to  Istria, 
to  the  peninsula  which  then  belonged  to  the  Queen 
of  the  Seas.  It  is  the  furthest  corner  of  Northern 
Italy;  the  last  to  accept  the  Reformation;  but 
it  is  from  that  corner  that  Pier  Paolo  and  Giovan 
Battista  Vergerio  came;  the  two  brothers  and 
bishops  to  whose  efforts  it  was  due  that,  previous 
to  1546,  the  greater  part  of  the  population  of  that 
country  had  opened  their  hearts  to  the  Gospel. 
Then  there  is  Venice,  the  glorious  republic,  whose 
Senate,  jealous  of  its  own  autonomy,  resisted  the 
intrusions  of  Rome  and  insisted  on  having  its 
right  of  sanctuary  respected,  as  sacred  to  all. 
It  is  quite  certain  that  Gerdesio  exaggerates  when 
he  calls  "  aurea  libertas  "  the  freedom  then  en- 
joyed in  the  shadow  of  St.  Mark;  it  is  quite  cer- 
tain that  Venice,  absorbed  as  she  was  in  her  love 
for  money,  did  not  consider  it  practical  or  profit- 
able to  spend  too  much  time  on  the  religious  prob- 
lems of  the  day;  it  is  equally  certain  that  she 
tolerated  the  Holy  Office  calmly  slaying  its  vic- 
tims under  the  very  eyes  of  the  winged  lion,  for 
want  of  that  sympathy  which  seems  to  be  com- 


The  Protestant  Revolution  75 

pletely  unknown  to  those  who  have  not  learnt 
by  experience  what  misfortune  is;  and  it  may 
be  that  pride  more  than  noble-mindedness  made 
Her  resist  Rome  and  insist  on  her  rights  be- 
ing respected.  In  spite  of  this,  the  fact  remains 
that  in  Venice  men  like  Pietro  Carnesecchi,  Baldo 
Lupetino,  Baldassarre  Altieri  were  allowed  to 
work  indefatigably  for  the  Reformation,  and  with 
no  little  fruit;  that  from  the  Venetian  printing 
offices  were  issued  versions  of  the  Bible  and  re- 
ligious tracts,  which  inundated  Italy;  and  that  in 
1528  the  news  of  the  great  progress  made  by  evan- 
gelical doctrines  reached  Luther,  who,  filled  with 
enthusiasm,  wrote  thus  to  a  friend:  "  By  impart- 
ing to  me  the  news  that  the  Venetians  receive  the 
Word  of  the  Lord  you  cause  me  great  joy.  God 
be  praised  and  thanked."  53  In  Padova  many  stu- 
dents and  some  of  the  professors  in  the  celebrated 
university,  accepted  the  new  ideas.  Verona, 
Bergamo,  Brescia,  also  were  stirred  up;  but  the 
movement  was  more  intense  in  Vicenza,  Treviso, 
and  the  neighbourhood  round  about,  which  was  in 
more  immediate  contact  with  Venice.  "  Vast  is 
the  harvest,' '  Altieri  wrote  to  Luther  and  to  the 
brethren  in  Germany  .   .   .  "  our  ardent  wish  is 

"Luther's  Samtliche  Schriften,  Vol.  XXI,  p.   1092;   ed.  J.  G. 
Walch. 


76    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

that  the  Word  of  God  may  be  spread  over  all  the 
country;  but  we  have  nobody  to  nurture  us,  un- 
less you,  in  your  abundance,  come  forward  to 
help  us  in  our  necessity."  54 

In  Milan  the  Reformation  had  already  made  its 
appearance  in  1524;  and  in  twelve  years  had  so 
progressed,  especially  through  the  zeal  of  Celio 
Secondo  Curione,  as  to  give  Paul  III  food  for  seri- 
ous and  anxious  thought.  But  it  is  to  Ferrara 
that  we  must  come,  if  we  wish  to  find  the  principal 
bulwark  of  the  Italian  Eeform  movement.  There, 
in  the  very  Court  of  Casa  d'Este,  a  safe  refuge 
was  found  for  not  a  few  of  the  Italian  and  foreign 
reformers ;  there  the  most  powerful  champions  of 
the  great  fight  against  superstition  and  error  were 
initiated  into,  for  them,  the  entirely  new  evangel- 
ical doctrines;  there  the  learned  and  beautiful 
Duchessa  Renata,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XII  of 
France,  one  of  the  brightest  stars  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  professed  herself  an  open  friend  of  the 
Reformation;  there,  finally,  although  many  deny 
it,  we  know  as  an  irrefutable  fact  through  Theo- 
dore de  Beza,  that  Calvin  himself  went  between 
March  and  April,  1536.55  At  Modena  the  first  bold 
men  in  Italy  who  dared  to  put  themselves  in  direct 

M  Seckendorf,   Book   III,  p.   401. 

"Beza:  Vita  Calvini.  Muratori:  Antichita  Estensi,  T.  II,  p. 
389.  McCrie:   La  Riforma  in  Italia. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  77 

correspondence  with  Martin  Luther  were  found; 
and  its  famous  Academy  to  which  Castelvetro, 
Francesco  and  Bartolomeo  Grillanzoni,  Camillo 
Molza,  Falloppio  belonged,  was  pointed  out  by  all 
as  a  powerful  centre  of  heresy.  Things  were  so 
advanced  at  Modena,  that  Cardinal  Morone,  in 
writing  to  Cardinal  Contarini,  said:  "  There  is 
rumour  that  the  whole  town  has  become  Lu- 
theran." 5a  We  might  stop  at  Faenza  and  Imola, 
and  there  also  we  should  find  traces  of  the  new 
movement;  but  time  flies  and  we  must  cross  the 
Apennines.  In  1525  Florence  already  had  her 
heretics,  and  gave  to  the  Reformation  excellent 
translators  of  the  Scriptures,  and. such  men  as 
Pietro  Carnesecchi,  Pier  Martire  Vermigli,  whom 
we  shall  have  to  mention  again,  and  a  cloud  of 
other  heroes,  who  were  compelled  to  ask  from 
other  countries  the  freedom  of  conscience  which 
they  could  not  expect  from  Cosimo  de'  Medici. 
Father  Antonio  Caracciolo,  attracted  by  a  long- 
ing to  magnify  the  work  of  the  Holy  Office,  wrote : 
"  Carnesecchi  and  Pier  Martire  Vermigli  had  so 
infected  Florence  that  I  heard  Signor  Pietr'  An- 
tonio Bandini,  the  father  of  Cardinal  Bandini, 
often  say :  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  Holy  Office 
Florence  would  have  been  left  without  a  scrap  of 

68  In   1542. 


78    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

faith.' '  Of  Siena  let  it  be  sufficient  to  mention 
Aonio  Paleario  and  the  very  frequent  visits  paid 
to  the  Sienese  by  Bernardino  Ochino,  during  his 
apostolic  peregrinations,  when  he  exhorted  them 
to  accept  the  Eeformation.  Lucca,  the  native  city 
of  Giovanni  Diodati,  had  an  imposing  nucleus  of 
lovers  of  the  new  religious  movement;  and  in 
the  shade  of  the  severe  basilica  of  San  Frediano, 
the  young  clerics  of  the  seminary  founded  by 
Vermigli  breathed  the  pure  atmosphere  of  the  ris- 
ing Reformation,  and  were  instructed  by  him  and 
Celso  Martinengo,  Emanuele  Tremellio,  Girolamo 
Zanchi,  and  Paolo  Lazise.  In  Viterbo,  in  1541,  a 
strong  and  most  important  group  of  adherents  to 
the  Reformation  gathered  round  Cardinal  Reginald 
Pole,  a  friend  of  the  movement,  and  a  nephew  of 
the  Duke  of  Clarence,  whose  brothers  ascended 
the  throne  of  England  as  Edward  IV  and  Richard 
III.  Rome  also,  as  well  as  Sicily,  opened  its 
heart  to  the  new  revolutionary  ideas ;  but  the  shin- 
ing beacon  of  the  south  of  Italy  was  in  Naples, 
where,  in  a  palace  at  Chiaia,  a  pious  and  learned 
Spanish  gentleman,  Juan  de  Valdes,  attracted  the 
flower  of  Italian  piety,  represented  by  men  such  as 
Pier  Martire  Vermigli,  Bernardino  Ochino,  Marco 
Antonio  Flaminio,  Pietro  Carnesecchi,  Jacopo 
Bonfadio    the   historian,   Lattanzio   Ragnoni    of 


The  Protestant  Eevolution  79 

Siena,  Bartolomeo  Spataforo,  a  nobleman  of  Mes- 
sina, Donato  Kullo  from  Puglia,  Mario  Galeata 
from  Naples,  Placido  di  Sangro  or  de  Sanguine, 
the  head  of  the  Academy  of  de'  Sereni,  Giovan 
Galeazzo  Caracciolo,  son  of  the  Marquis  of  Vico, 
Vittoria  Soranzo  and  Gian  Tommaso  Senfelice, 
who  had  once  upon  a  time  been  chamberlain  of 
Pope  Clement  VII,  Giovanni  Buzio  from  Montal- 
cino,57  Vittoria  Colonna,  Marchioness  of  Pescara, 
a  literary  star  of  her  century  and  twin  soul  of  the 
great  Michelangelo,  Giulia  Gonzaga,  Duchess  of 
Trajetto  and  Countess  of  Fondi,  a  woman  of  ex- 
quisite piety  and  famous  for  her  misfortunes  not 
less  than  for  her  fascinating  beauty,  and  Donna 
Isabella  Brisegna,  the  wife  of  Don  Garzia  Man- 
riquez,  the  Governor  of  Piacenza. 

Thus  the  movement,  spread  simultaneously  and 
spontaneously,  is  amazing,  when  one  thinks  of  the 
political  conditions  in  Italy  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. It  looked,  says  McCrie,  as  if  the  scattered 
members  of  the  national  body  were  going  to  be 
knit  together  once  for  all  not  only  by  the  influence 
of  an  intellectual  reawakening  such  as  that  of  the 

5THe  is  generally  known  to  historians  by  the  name  of  Mollio. 
Precise  information  relating  to  his  family  name  and  martyrdom 
(1533)  is  given  in  a  document  in  S.  Giovanni  Decollato  in  Rome. 
Tomo  III,  f.  66,  dated  4th  September,  1553.  (See  Antonio  Ago- 
etini:  Pietro  Carnesecchi  e  il  Movimento  Yaldesiano.) 


80    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

magnificent  sixteenth  century,  but  also  by  the  in- 
fluence of  a  true  spiritual  revival  in  the  Italian 
conscience. 

And  the  movement  was  spreading  over  all  so- 
cial classes.  Cantu  says :  ' '  Whilst  the  Reforma- 
tion in  Germany  was  associated  with  princes,  and 
in  France  with  the  nobility,  in  Italy  it  principally 
touched  the  men  of  letters."58  Principally,  but 
not  exclusively }  because  the  religious  movement 
of  the  century  of  Martin  Luther,  in  Italy,  did  not 
only  affect  literary  men,  but  also  philosophers, 
monastics,  noblemen,  men  of  the  sword,  courtiers, 
and  women,  such  as  Isabella  Manrica  di  Bresegna, 
Lavinia  della  Eovere,  Madonna  Elena  Rangone  di 
Bentivoglio,  Giulia  Gonzaga,  Vittoria  Colonna,  and 
Olimpia  Morata.  Ernesto  Masi,  one  of  the  few 
Italians  who  studied  dispassionately  the  Reform 
movement  in  his  country,  said  with  more  truth 
than  Cantu  that  it  began  "  in  high  places/ '  In 
fact,  when  one  looks  back  to  that  "  Oratorio  del 
Divino  Amore,"  founded  almost  at  the  door  of 
the  Roman  Court,  where  men  like  Giberti,  Sado- 
leto,  Latino  Giovenale,  Giuliano  Dati,  and  Caraffa, 
who  afterwards  became  Paul  IV,59  met  to  pray 

68  C.  Cantu:  Gli  crctici  d'ltalia.    Quoted  from  McCrie. 

"•  Paul  IV  was  afterwards  "  the  viper  that  bit  the  rising  evan- 
gelical Reformation  in  Italy  more  venomously  than  any  one 
else." — E.  Comba:  Btoria  della  Riforma  in  Italia, 


The  Protestant  Revolution  81 

and  to  study  the  Bible ;  when  one  remembers  that 
in  1537  Paul  III  himself  was  bound  by  the  spirit 
of  the  times  to  appoint  the  "  Collegium  de  emen- 
danda  Ecclesia,,,  composed  of  four  Cardinals  and 
five  prelates,  to  study  the  best  way  in  which  to 
bring  about  a  reform  of  the  abuses  of  the 
Church ; 60  when  one  takes  into  account  the  fact 
that  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century  had 
created  not  only  two  currents,  one  heretical  and 
the  other  reactionary,  but  also  a  third  which,  in 
the  very  bosom  of  the  Roman  Court,  aimed  at  con- 
ciliating the  other  two ;  and  when  one  remembers 
also  that  the  Duke  Ercole  of  Ferrara  took  great 
delight  in  the  theological  discussions  of  his  time, 
that  the  Duchess  Renata  favoured  the  heretics  and 
gave  hospitality  in  her  own  castle  to  Aonio  Pale- 
ario,  Pietro  Vergnanini,  Francesco  Porto,  Giro- 
lamo  Bolsec,  John  Calvin,  Clement  Marot,  and  that 
this  heresy  had  found  its  way  into  the  very  house- 
hold of  the  Medici,  it  will  appear  evident  that 
Ernesto  Masi  was  right.  He  errs,  however,  when 
he  asserts  that  the  movement  so  begun  "  in  high 

"The  Report  of  this  "Collegium"  was  entitled:  "Concilium 
Delectorum  Cardinalium  et  aliorum  praelatorum  de  emendanda 
Eeclesia,  S.D.  N.D.  Paulo  III  ipso  jubente  conscriptum  et  ex- 
hibitum  anno  MDXXXVIII,"  and  was  signed  by  Cardinals  Con- 
tarini,  Caraffa,  Sadoleto,  Pole,  and  by  five  other  prelates. 


82    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

places  "  "  did  not  descend."  To  show  how  wrong 
he  was  in  his  assertion,  Professor  E.  Comba  men- 
tions Venice  and  the  country  round  about,  where, 
in  150  trials  for  heresy  in  the  Holy  Office,  not  one 
single  name  of  a  person  belonging  to  the  nobility 
is  to  be  found,  and  where  the  new  ideas  had  so 
stirred  the  people  as  to  excite  the  apprehension 
of  the  government.  It  is,  therefore,  legitimate  to 
conclude  that  the  Reform  movement  spread,  more 
or  less,  throughout  all  social  classes.  It  began  in 
literary  circles  and  Academies ;  gripped  the  most 
noted  men  famous  for  their  doctrine,  influence,  and 
nobility  of  descent ;  found  its  way  into  the  Italian 
Courts,  and  thence  descended  to  the  army  and 
among  the  people.  Not  a  corner  could  be  found  in 
the  Peninsula  where  the  Reformation  had  not  its 
proselytes.  The  Bible  was  circulated  everywhere, 
and  was  eagerly  read  and  studied  together  with 
many  other  books  of  reformed  theology;  among 
which  were  the  Commentaries  on  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  and  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew, 
by  Bucer;  the  Discourses  on  the  Songs  of  De- 
grees, by  Luther;  the  One-hundred  and  Ten 
Divine  Considerations,  by  Valdes;  the  Institutes 
of  the  Christian  Religion,  by  Calvin,  translated 
into  Italian  by  Giulio  Cesare  Paschali,  and  dedi- 


The  Protestant  Revolution  83 

cated  to  Galeazzo  Caracciolo,  Marquis  of  Vico,61 
and,  above  all,  the  most  valuable  Trattato  del 
Beneficio  di  Cristo  (Treatise  on  the  Benefit  of 
Christ),  by  San  Benedetto  da  Mantova,  which 
for  so  long  was  erroneously  attributed  to  Aonio 
Paleario.62    In  these  volumes  souls  weary  of  the 

"Giulio  Cesare  Paschali:  Instituzione  delta  Religione  Cris- 
tiana.  Ginevra.  Coi  tipi  di  Jacopo  Burgese,  Antonio  Davodeo 
e  Francesco  Jacchi  compagni.    4  Agosto,  1558. 

62  Until  a  few  years  ago  nobody  knew  precisely  who  was  the 
author  of  this  most  important  work.  Some,  like  Schelhorn  and 
Babington,  ascribed  it  to  Aonio  Paleario ;  others,  instead,  ascribed 
it  to  one  of  the  following:  Ochino,  Vermigli,  Flaminio,  or  Valdes. 
Pietro  Carnesecchi,  however,  in  his  evidence  before  the  judges  of 
the  Holy  Office,  clearly  says  that  the  author  of  the  Benefizio  was 
"a  negro  monk  of  St.  Benedetto,  called  Don  Benedetto  da  Man- 
tova, who  said  that  he  had  written  it  in  his  monastery  in  Sicily 
near  Mount  Etna.  The  said  Don  Benedetto  handed  it  over  to  a 
friend  of  his,  M.  Marcantonio  Flaminio,  and  asked  him  to  be  so 
good  as  to  polish  it  up  with  his  beautiful  style,  so  that  it  might 
be  all  the  more  readable  and  attractive.  Flaminio  left  the  mat- 
ter untouched,  but  altered  the  form  to  suit  his  own  taste."  (See 
Extract  of  Pietro  Carnesecchi's  trial,  edited  by  Giacomo  Man- 
zoni,  Turin,  1870.)  This  same  information  is  found  repeated  by 
Antonio  Caracciolo  in  a  manuscript  Life  of  Paul  IV,  also  by 
Vergerio  in  his  Commentary  on  the  "  Index  Librorum  Prohibi- 
torum,"  and  is  confirmed  in  the  trial  of  Cardinal  Morone.  In 
1540  or  1541  it  had  already  been  transcribed  by  Pietro  Car- 
nesecchi in  Naples;  but  we  do  not  know  if  at  that  time  it  had 
been  printed  or  not.  What  we  know  for  certain  is  that  in  1543 
it  was  published  in  Venice,  and  that,  without  taking  into  account 
other  editions  issued  contemporaneously,  40,000  copies  of  it  were 
issued  and  sold,  until  1549,  in  Venice  alone.  This  is  attested  by 
Vergerio  in  his  Discourse  on  the  Venetian  Index  of  1549.  (See 
Antonio  Agostini:  Pietro  Carnesecchi  e  il  Movimento  Val- 
desiano;  K.  Benrath:  Chi  fu  Vautore  del  Benefizio  di  Cristo t  in 
Rivista   Cristiana.     Anno    1876.     Gennaio.     Eduard   Boehmer: 


84    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

world  and  thirsty  for  truth  and  righteousness, 
found  spiritual  and  moral  nourishment.  Char- 
acters were  transformed  under  the  powerful  action 
of  the  spirit  of  God,  and  men  died  heroically  for  a 
holy  ideal,  in  a  century  that  had  completely  lost 
all  ideality.  They  died  as  Gioff redo  Varaglia  63 
did,  who  answered  thus  to  the  executioner  who 
begged  his  forgiveness  for  the  painful  duty  im- 
posed upon  him:  "  Not  only  do  I  forgive  you,  but 
I  forgive  those  also  who  have  arrested  me  and 
brought  me  here,  and  who  have  condemned  me  to 
this  death.  Be  of  good  courage,  fulfil  your  duty; 
be  sure  that  my  dying  will  not  be  in  vain."  Or  as 
Pietro  Carnesecchi  64  did,  who,  as  is  recorded  by 
the  historian  Carlo  Botta,  witnessed  with  marvel- 
lous endurance  the  very  last  preparations  for  his 
martyrdom,  and  went  to  the  stake  as  if  to  a  feast. 
Dressed  in  his  best,  wearing  immaculate  linen,  and 
holding  in  his  hand  a  white  handkerchief  and  a  new 
pair  of  gloves,  he  walked  steadily  forward,  calm 
and  serene.  "  It  seemed,"  says  Agostini,65  "  as 
if  in  that  slender,  delicate  body,  which,  on  account 

Cenni  biografici  sui  fratelli  Giovanni  e  Alfonso  di  Valdesso. 
1861.  Appendix  to  the  volume:  he  Cento  e  died  Divine  Con- 
siderazioni  di  Giovanni  Valdesso.    Halle  in  Saxony.    MDCCCLX.) 

"Turin,  17th  December,  1557.        "Rome,  1st  October,  1567. 

"Antonio  Agostini:  Pietro  Carnesecchi  e  il  Movimento  Val- 
desiano. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  85 

of  sickness  and  the  many  trials  it  had  undergone, 
could  scarcely  stand,  there  breathed  the  breath  of 
a  new  life  and  worked  a  mysterious  power.' '  Or 
as  Aonio  Paleario  66  did,  who,  when  condemned 
to  the  stake,  at  seventy  years  of  age,  wrote  thus 
to  his  wife  on  the  very  morning  in  which  he  died : 
' '  I  should  like  you  not  to  be  grieved  on  account 
of  my  joy.  Do  not  allow  what  is  for  my  good  to  be 
turned  into  evil  for  you.  The  hour  has  come  when 
I  must  pass  from  this  life  to  my  Lord,  my  Father, 
and  my  God.  I  depart  joyfully,  as  if  I  were  going 
to  the  marriage  of  the  great  King's  Son.  I  have 
petitioned  my  Lord  to  enable  me  to  do  so  through 
His  Infinite  goodness  and  mercy.  So,  my  dearest 
wife,  be  comforted  by  the  thought  that  this  is  the 
will  of  God  and  that  I  am  perfectly  resigned  to 
it.  Care  for  our  desolate  family,  try  to  educate 
and  keep  the  young  ones  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
Be  father  and  mother  at  the  same  time.  Our  chil- 
dren must  think  for  themselves  and  be  virtuous, 
and  industrious,  and  live  an  honourable  life. 
God,  the  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with  your 
spirit. ' ' 67   Ernesto  Masi  was  right  when  he  wrote : 

66  Rome,  3d  July,  1570. 

67  The  last  letters  of  Aonio  Paleario  were  reprinted  from  the 
Italian  original  by  Schelhorn  in  his  Dissertatio  de  Mino  Celso 


86    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion  one  has  of  these 
men,  this  is  unquestionable :  that,  while  the  nation 
was  dying  for  want  of  strong  moral  convictions 
and  was  accommodating  herself  to  slavery  in  a 
cowardly  fashion,  the  throbbing  of  the  heart  of 
Italy  was  only  perceptible  in  the  men  that  ad- 
hered to  the  Keformation.  They  faced  prison, 
torture,  poverty,  exile,  and  the  stake,  for  the  free- 
dom of  their  conscience.  Those  protestants  and 
philosophers  in  whom  a  spark  of  a  new  life,  of  a 
love  for  truth  and  goodness  still  glowed,  were  the 
last  noble  custodians  of  human  dignity  during 
the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  and 
also  in  the  best  part  of  the  century  that  fol- 
lowed. "68 


Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  Reformation  in 
Italy  was  doomed  to  die.  It  died  a  violent  death, 
in  fact,  after  having  lived  for  about  half  a  century ; 
and  its  tragic  end  may  be  completely  and  faith- 
fully recalled  by  the  mention  of  a  few  names :  Paul 
III  cast  it  into  prison;  the  Jesuits  went  about 
hunting  for  its  friends,  investigating  its  docu- 
ments, heaping  up  the  materials  for  its  coming 
trial;  the  Inquisition  judged  it  and  condemned 

68  Ernesto  Masi:  /  Burlamacchi.    Quoted  from  E.  Comba. 


The  Protestant  Ee volution  87 

it  to  death;  Julius  III  brought  it  to  the  stake; 
the  Council  of  Trent  endeavoured  to  disperse  its 
so-called  heretical  ideas;  Paul  IV  scattered  its 
ashes  to  the  winds:  Pius  IV,  at  San  Sisto,  La 
Guardia,  and  at  Montalto,  steeped  in  blood  the 
descendants  of  those  Waldenses  who,  as  we  shall 
see  later  on,  had  been  its  forerunners,  and  Pius 
V  swore  that  he  would  wrench  from  the  heart  of 
Italy  its  very  remembrance. 

Now,  how  is  it  that  a  movement  such  as  this, 
which  appeared  in  a  divided  and  subdivided  coun- 
try like  Italy  in  a  sporadic  fashion  it  is  true,  but 
at  the  same  time  suddenly,  spontaneously,  and  in 
all  classes  of  society,  did  not  spread  throughout 
the  Peninsula  and  bring  forth  the  fruit  that  it 
brought  forth  in  other  countries! 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  not  easy.  The 
problem  implied  in  the  question  is  a  very  complex 
one.  Many  reasons  have  been  assigned  to  explain 
the  failure  of  the  Eef orm  movement  in  Italy,  such 
as,  for  instance :  the  almost  absolute  want  of  true 
national  spirit  at  the  time;  the  lack  of  sympathy 
from  princes;  the  terror  inspired  by  the  idea  of 
possible  foreign  invasions;  the  form  assumed  by 
Protestantism  beyond  the  Alps,  a  form  believed 
to  be  not  always  congenial  to  the  Latin  spirit  in 
general  and  to  the  Italian  in  particular;  the  de- 


88    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

ficient  organisation  of  the  movement,  which  in 
Italy  had  too  many  leaders ;  the  all  too  thin  ranks 
of  the  adherents,  and  the  lamentable  want  of 
energy.69  All  these  are  without  doubt  strong,  real 
reasons,  sufficient  in  themselves  to  make  unfruitful 
any  beneficial  movement  in  a  nation.  Neverthe- 
less, if  we  give  the  matter  deeper  consideration, 
and  look  at  it  from  all  its  possible  aspects,  other 
and  more  profound  reasons  than  these  will  sug- 
gest themselves  to  us,  which  will  convey  a  more 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  failure  of  the 
Eeformation  in  Italy. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Eenaissance,  in  Italy, 
made  religious  reform  impossible.  De  Leva  has 
drawn  attention  to  this  fact:  "  The  German 
Reformation,' '  he  says,  "  having  as  its  foundation 
the  religious  and  moral  spirit  of  the  cultivated 
classes,  succeeded;  and  in  spite  of  all  its  aberra- 
tions, bore  abundant  fruit.  On  the  other  hand, 
our  Renaissance,  although  so  beneficial  to  the  cul- 
ture of  our  and  all  other  lands,  inasmuch  as  its 
followers  thought  that  those  who  were  trying  their 
best  to  harmonise  Science  with  belief  were  not 
only  not  progressing  but  were  falling  back  two 
centuries  at  least,  discouraged  us  in  following  the 

WE.  Comba:  Storia  della  Riforma  in  Italia. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  89 

great  movement,  which  strengthened  so  marvel- 
lously the  young  nations  of  Europe.' ' 70 

The  Renaissance,  which  in  Germany  brought 
about  religious  reform,  did  nothing  in  Italy  but 
revive  paganism  in  the  fine  arts  and  literature, 
and  undermine  religious  sentiment  by  doubt  and 
indifference.  Now,  we  all  know  that  to  build  up 
any  kind  of  religious  reform  on  a  foundation 
of  doubt  and  indifference  is  an  utter  impossi- 
bility. 

In  the  second  place,  what  made  religious  reform 
in  Italy  impossible,  was  the  institution  of  Papacy.71 
When  the  Reformation  broke  out  in  Germany, 
faith  no  longer  existed  in  Italy.  The  faith  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  in  Italy,  was  sickly  and  with- 
out works;  a  faith  that  consisted  entirely  of  ex- 
terior forms  of  worship  and  pompous  and  solemn 
ceremonies.  To  attend  mass,  perform  other  re- 
ligious duties,  and  to  plan  grand  solemn  proces- 
sions, was  all  that  constituted  religion  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  powerful  voice  of  Sa- 
vonarola had  already  thundered  against  that 
formalism;  but  formalism  and  religious  material- 
ism were  bound  to  render  any  movement  of  reform 

T0De   Leva:    Storia   documentata   di    Carlo   Quinto,   Vol.    Ill, 
Cap.  V.    Quoted  from  E.  Comba. 
T1See  E.  Comba:   /  nostri  Protestanti. 


90    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

sterile.  Where  can  the  real  cause  of  such  calamity- 
be  found?  It  is  to  be  found  in  Papacy,  whose 
influence,  always  spiritually  malign,  greatly  af- 
fected those  who  were  nearest  to  it.  That  explains 
why  in  Rome  and  in  the  neighbouring  country  the 
seed  of  the  Reformation  sprouted  with  much  less 
vigour  than  in  the  distant  provinces.  Machia- 
velli  has  well  said:  "  The  nations  nearest  to  the 
Roman  Church,  the  head  of  our  religion,  have 
least  religion  of  all.  ...  To  the  Church  and  the 
priests  we  Italians  owe  the  fact  of  our  having 
become  irreligious  and  bad."72  Martin  Luther 
and  John  Calvin  also,  when  visiting  Italy,  received 
a  sad  impression  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the 
country.  Luther  wrote:  "  The  Italians  are  the 
most  impious  among  men.  They  ridicule  religion 
and  make  fun  of  us  because  we  believe  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  Although  imbued  with  all  kinds  of 
false  doctrines,  they  still  are  prepared  to  accept 
many,  and  even  worse  ones  than  they  have  al- 
ready; in  fact,  they  are  reprobate  in  their  senti- 
ments.' ' 73  And  Calvin,  when  he  came  to  Ferrara 
to  visit  the  Duchess  Renata,  encouraged  the  mar- 
tyrs of  Italy  to  die,  in  order  to  give  the  "  crooked 
and  perverse  "  generation  in  Italy  an  example  of 

72  Machiavelli :   Discorsi,  L.   I,  C.   12. 

"Colloq.,  I,  376;  II,  371.     Quoted  from  E.  Comba. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  91 

sincerity  and  magnanimity.74  In  this  general 
bankruptcy  of  belief  brought  about  by  the  tyran- 
nical and  antichristian  papal  government,  lies 
the  second  reason  for  the  failure  of  the  Eeform 
movement  in  Italy. 

The  third  reason  of  failure  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact,  pointed  out  by  Agostini,  that  the  German  con- 
ception of  the  Church  of  Rome  and  of  Papacy 
clashed  with  the  sentiments  and  aspirations  of 
Italy.  While  Germany,  in  order  to  ensure  for  her- 
self a  reasonable  economic  prosperity  and  to  ac- 
quire political  autonomy,  was  bound  to  throw  off 
the  yoke  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  was  domi- 
neering over  her  and  crushing  her  with  a  thousand 
impositions,  Italy,  on  the  other  hand,  thought  that 
the  best  thing  to  do  would  be  just  to  leave  Papacy 
as  it  was,  the  centre  of  life  and  activity  in  the 
world.  The  Pope  transacted  all  kinds  of  affairs 
with  kings  and  emperors  on  a  footing  of  perfect 
equality,  mixed  himself  in  all  business  concerning 
the  States  of  Italy;  was  always  the  source  of  all 
authority.  The  Pope  represented  the  spiritual 
and  moral  unity  of  the  whole  Peninsula,  which,  on 
account  of  particular  circumstances,  had  not  been 
able  to  organise  herself  so  as  to  form  one  nation, 

74 "  Nation  tortue  et  perverse."    Crespin :  Hist,  des  Martyrs,  ed. 
1582,  f.  442  verso.     Quoted  from  E.   Comba. 


92    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

as  other  countries  had  done.  He,  in  the  midst  of 
all  the  small  States  into  which  Italy  had  been 
divided,  seemed  to  be  the  continuator  of  the  plan 
of  ancient  Rome,  which  had  gathered  together 
different  peoples  and  had  united  them  by  giving 
them  equal  rights,  equal  customs,  and  equal  insti- 
tutions.75 Surely  every  one  is  aware,  says  Ago- 
stini,  that  the  imposing  universality  of  the  great 
moral  power  and  glory  of  Papacy  is  a  conception 
that  has  always  intoxicated  Italy  to  such  a  degree 
as  to  make  her  forget  almost  completely  the  dis- 
asters, the  afflictions,  and  the  shame  that  Papacy 
has  ever  inflicted  on  her.  When  I  think  of  Italy 
and  of  her  relations  with  Papacy,  I  seem  to  hear 
an  enamoured  country  say  to  her  worst  enemy: 
"  Nee  tecum  possum  vivere,  nee  sine  te.n 
(Neither  with  thee  nor  without  thee  can  I 
live.) 

The  fourth  reason  which  prevented  the  move- 
ment from  spreading  throughout  Italy,  may  be 
summed  up  in  one  word :  egoism.  The  Italian  peo- 
ple, who,  owing  to  the  Renaissance,  had  fallen  into 
paganism  and  sensualism  and  had  no  other  con- 
ception of  man,  of  the  universe,  and  of  life  than 
a  materialistic  one,  seemed  to  be  reduced  to  such 

"Antonio  Agostini:  Pietro  Carnesecchi  e  il  Movimento  Val- 
desiano. 


The  Protestant  Revolution  93 

a  point  as  to  respond  to  the  vibrations  of  only  one 
chord :  that  of  self-interest.  Italy  of  the  sixteenth 
century  desired  to  keep  Papacy  as  it  was,  not  only 
because  of  national  pride,  as  I  have  already 
pointed  out,  but  for  a  stronger  reason,  namely: 
material  interest.  Papacy,  by  means  of  open  or 
secret  channels,  managed  to  extract  money  from 
all  parts  of  the  globe,  and  spent  it  on  Italy.  Cantu 
says :  ' '  The  Italians  of  that  time  were  very  sen- 
sible to  the  fact  that  Papacy  was  ensuring  to  Italy 
financial  importance,  and  was  attracting  to  the 
country,  men,  commerce,  and  wealth. ' ' 76  If,  as 
the  Reformation  wished,  the  Pope  could  have  been 
deprived  of  his  power  and  been  reduced  to  the 
simple  position  of  a  bishop,  what  would  have  hap- 
pened from  a  financial  point  of  view?  asks  Ago- 
stini.  "  From  the  very  beginning  of  the  Reform 
movement,  this  was  the  great  problem  in  Italy, 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  same  may  be  said 
about  Indulgences.  The  trade  in  Indulgences  was 
carried  on  in  Italy  as  well  as  in  Germany.  It 
is  true  that,  on  account  of  the  miserable  condi- 
tion of  the  country,  trade  in  Indulgences  was 
growing  slack;  yet,  those  who  felt  inclined  to 
spend  money  on  Indulgences  did  it  willingly, 
counting  on  the  advantage  they  had  a  right  to 

78  C.  Canta:  Gli  eretici  d Italia. 


94  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
expect  from  them.  It  was  a  matter  of  personal 
profit ;  the  purchasers  meant  to  place  their  money 
at  a  high  rate  of  interest  in  the  Bank  of  Heaven, 
and  nothing  more.  The  Italian  reformers  did  not 
approve  of  Indulgences,  and  preached  against 
them;  but  preached  to  deaf  ears.  They  might 
have  thundered  as  much  as  they  liked  to  try  to 
convince  their  hearers  that  Indulgences  were 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  Church,  and  that 
they  were  not  mentioned  by  the  Fathers;  peo- 
ple all  the  same  willingly  continued  to  pay 
money  that,  according  to  them,  was  to  open  the 
gates  of  Paradise,  and  to  procure  for  them  on 
earth  abundant  benefits."77  The  selfish  spirit  of 
the  sixteenth  century  appears  in  bold  relief  in  the 
following  words  of  the  great  historian  of  those 
times,  Francesco  Guicciardini : 78  "  I  do  not  know," 
he  wrote, '  *  if  there  be  a  man  more  disgusted  than 
I  am  with  the  ambition,  avarice,  and  effeminacy  of 
the  priests.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  my  position  at  the 
Court  of  several  Popes  has  made  it  necessary  for 
me,  in  view  of  my  own  private  interests,  to  love 
their  greatness;  had  it  not  been  for  that  reason, 
I  should  have  loved  Martin  Luther  dearly,  not  in 
order  to  be  rid  of  the  laws  laid  upon  us  by  the 

"Antonio   Agostini:    Pictro   Carnesecchi   e  il   Movimento   Vol- 
desiano.  K 1483-1540. 


The  Protestant  Kevolution  95 

Christian  religion  as  it  is  commonly  inter- 
preted and  understood,  but  in  order  to  see 
that  pack  of  villains  reduced  to  the  point  of 
being  either  without  vices,  or  without  author- 
ity."79 

Lastly,  a  modernist  has  written  recently:  "  The 
history  of  the  Eeformation,  when  studied  in  a 
calm  spirit,  shows  that  when  the  Beform  move- 
ment begins  from  those  in  power,  or  by  means  of 
their  protection,  it  ends  by  doing  great  good  to 
many,  if  not  to  all;  if,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  its 
rise  in  the  lower  classes,  it  ends  by  bringing  about 
schisms,  more  or  less  as  in  Luther's  time,  always 
a  deplorable  thing."80     Many  agree  with  him. 
But  how  differently  history  speaks  to  those  who 
know  how  to  read  it  aright !    It  says  that  reforms 
begun  in  high  places  more  often  remain  there,  and 
do  not  descend  to  transform  the  masses,  unless  the 
masses  be  moved  by  a  conviction  of  sin,  a  longing 
for  redemption,  and  a  desire  for  the  divine,  in 
which  lie  the  true  foundations  of  an  earnest,  deep, 
and  lasting  reformation.    Did  the  great  and  bene- 
ficial Franciscan  movement  begin  from  on  high! 
Certainly  not;  it  began  among  the  people.    True, 

"Francesco   Guiceiardini.     Opere   inedite,   Ricordo   28.      Vide 
also  Ric.  236  and  346. 
^Sibilla:  Lettere  Ghibelline. 


96    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

it  ended  by  being  recognised  and  officially  ac- 
cepted by  the  Church ;  but,  before  that,  how  many 
and  what  dreadful  hostilities  it  had  to  encounter ! 
Even  in  Germany,  where  the  Eeformation  was  not 
a  ' i  deplorable  schism, ' '  but,  as  Abbot  Luigi  Anelli 
says,  *  '  a  great  revolution  the  effects  of  which  still 
exist  and  will  last  who  knows  for  how  long,"81 
that  Eeformation,  I  say,  would  never  have  taken 
place,  had  not  the  great  soul  of  Germany  been 
awakened  before  and  felt  new  needs  and  new 
aspirations.  That  Eeformation,  effected  by  the 
providential  and  united  co-operation  of  Electors 
and  people,  might  have  arisen  through  the  people 
without  the  Electors,  but  never  through  the  Elec- 
tors without  the  people.  In  Italy  the  Eeforma- 
tion had  neither  the  good-will  of  princes  nor  the 
longing  of  a  people  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
truth  and  righteousness.  The  princes,  blinded  by 
ambition,  went  to  the  point,  as  Cosimo  de'  Medici 
did,  of  betraying  their  best  friends,  and  of  deliver- 
ing them  into  the  hands  of  the  Pope,  to  be  con- 
demned to  the  stake,  men  of  immaculate  faith  and 
character  such  as  Pietro  Carnesecchi.82    The  peo- 

81  Abate  Luigi  Anelli:   /  Riformatori  nel  secolo  XVI. 

82  Cosimo  I  betrayed  his  faithful  friend  Pietro  Carnesecchi  in 
his  own  palace  (some  say  while  Carnesecchi  was  sitting  at  table 
as  a  guest),  and  delivered  him  into  the  hands  of  the  sbirri  of 
Pius  V.    It  was  about  the  end  of  June,  1566.    On  the  3d  of  July 


The  Protestant  Revolution  97 

pie  no  longer  heeded  the  things  of  God ;  they  had 
completely  lost  all  "  mysticalness  "  as  Terenzio 
Mamiani  has  called  it;  the  Renaissance  had  trans- 
formed their  soul  into  a  pagan  one,  and  Papacy 
had  killed  the  conscience  within  them.  How  in  the 
world  could  the  Reformation  have  succeeded  in 
Italy? 


When,  going  back  to  the  sixteenth  century, 
which  was  the  glorious  century  of  Italian  art  and 
literature,  I  notice  the  minor  influence  that  art 
and  literature  had  on  the  moral  education  of  the 
people  in  Italy,  and  when  I  compare  that  with  the 
great  and  beneficial  influence  which  the  principles 
of  the  Reformation  exercised  on  the  nations  that 
accepted  them,  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced 
that  if  greatness  of  intellect  is  possible  without 
morality,  true  morality  is  not  possible  without 
faith.  To  say  that  intellect  and  heart  are  con- 
demned to  be  in  everlasting  discord  in  individuals 
and  in  nations,  is  simply  absurd;  but  still,  it  is  an 
undeniable  fact  that  conflict  between  the  intellect 

the  martyr  arrived  in  Rome,  and  on  the  1st  October,  1567,  after 
being  beheaded,  his  body  was  burnt.  Two  years  later,  Cosimo  I 
received  from  the  Pope,  as  the  price  of  his  treachery,  the  title  of 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  which  he  had  so  long  and  unsuccessfully 
coveted. 


98    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

and  the  heart  seems  to  be  a  constant  characteristic 
of  the  Italian  people.  Will  the  conflict  ever  come 
to  an  end  in  Italy !    And  if  so,  how  will  it  end  1 

Several  names  occur  here  to  my  mind,  names 
of  men  who  seem  to  point  out  a  way  of  solving  the 
problem. 

On  the  threshold  of  the  sixteenth  century  stands 
the  severe  and  noble  figure  of  Fra  Girolamo  Sa- 
vonarola.83 He  closes  the  door  of  the  Middle 
Ages  and  has  the  key  of  Modern  times.  He  is  true 
to  the  religion  of  his  fathers ;  he  does  not  give  up 
nor  does  he  wish  to  give  up  the  dogmas  of  the 
Eoman  Church,  but  he  dreams  of  a  sacerdotal  re- 
ligion constantly  overlooking  the  institutions  of 
the  State;  a  condition  to  which  his  Florentine 
theocratic  republic  should  serve  as  the  pattern. 

Can  that  be  the  way  to  solve  the  great  problem! 

I  do  not  think  so. 

Without  the  gate  that  closes  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury stands  another  severe  and  noble  figure ;  that 
of  Giordano  Bruno:84  "sad,"  as  Abbot  Anelli 
says, ' '  and  longing  for  better  times  and  for  a  bet- 
ter humanity."85  He  tolerates  the  Protestant 
revolution;  but  does  so  because  he  considers  it 
as  a  step  towards  a  religion  which,  according  to 

83 1452-1498.  8*  ?  1550-1600. 

"Abate  Luigi  Anelli:   /  Riformatori  nel  secolo  XVI. 


The  Protestant  Kevolution  99 

him,  must  be  essentially  philosophical.  He  is 
longing  for  a  Church  full  of  holy  affection,  of 
godly  sentiment;  in  his  vast  imagination  he  pro- 
poses to  transform  the  whole  of  Italy,  which  he 
wants  to  be  free  and  moral.  Hence,  his  Spaccio 
delta  Bestia  trionfante  (The  Despatch  of  the 
Triumphant  Beast)  and  the  Cabala  del  cavallo 
pegaseo  (The  Cabala  of  the  Pegasean  Horse), 
directed  against  superstition  and  immoral  and  un- 
spiritual  orthodoxy.  Hence,  his  effort  to  restore 
primitive  morality  and  the  inborn  respect  for  duty, 
because,  although  religion,  according  to  him,  may 
be  useful  to  all,  still  it  has  not  the  force  of  law 
except  to  the  uncultured  masses  in  whom  the  ra- 
tional idea  of  duty  has  too  little  authority. 

Can  that  be  the  way  to  solve  the  great  problem  f 

I  do  not  think  so. 

In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  stands  a 
group  of  figures ;  they  seem  to  wait  calmly,  looking 
into  the  distant  horizon,  and  smiling  as  people  do 
who  cherish  a  loved  ideal.  Who  are  they?  They 
are  Pier  Martire  Vermigli,  Bernardino  Ochino, 
Marcantonio  Flaminio,  Pietro  Carnesecchi,  Aonio 
Paleario,  Giovanni  Buzio,86  and  many  others  of 
whom  we  have  been  speaking.     What  do  they 

"Giovanni  Buzio  is  always  known  by  historians  as  Giovanni 
Mollio.     See  n.  57. 


100  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
want?  They  want  perfect  freedom  of  research; 
the  "  nosce  te  ipsum  "  as  a  basis  of  individual 
religion ;  Christ,  as  the  only  Mediator  between  God 
and  man ;  the  Gospel  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and 
conduct ;  eternal  life  not  ensured  by  money,  merit, 
sacerdotal  interference,  but  offered  as  a  free 
gift  by  God  to  every  repenting  and  believing 
sinner. 

Is  that  the  way  to  solve  the  great  problem ! 

Yes,  I  firmly  believe  it  is. 

When  Italy  understands  that  true  religion  is 
neither  superstitious  nor  bigoted  but  a  beautiful 
and  holy  reality  to  be  accepted  as  the  only  founda- 
tion of  any  true  moral  life;  when  God  has  freed 
the  country  from  what  still  remains  in  it  of  the 
obstacles  that  frustrated  all  the  efforts  of  the 
Italian  reformers,  then  the  Italians  will  not  turn 
to  Fra  Girolamo  in  search  of  inspiration ;  because 
the  Church  of  Rome,  such  as  she  is,  will  no  longer 
satisfy  them ;  nor  will  they  turn  to  the  great  Nolan 
philosopher;  for  his  idea  of  duty  is  too  meta- 
physical and  loses  itself  in  the  mysterious  solitude 
of  the  infinity  of  God.  They  will  then  turn  to  their 
martyrs,  who,  with  their  pen,  with  their  word,  and 
from  the  stake,  have  pointed  out  to  all  the  Christ 
of  the  Gospel;  Christ,  who  makes  us  members  of 
the  true  Church  which,  as  Buzio  from  Montalcino 


The  Protestant  Kevolution  101 

said  to  his  judges,  "  is  neither  Roman,  nor  Lom- 
bard, nor  Venetian,  but  truly  Catholic ;"  Christ, 
who  gives  us  not  only  the  notion  of  duty,  but  also 
the  perfect  example  of  how  to  perform  it,  and  the 
strength  necessary  to  put  it  into  practice. 


Ill 


THE  DRAMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE 
IN  ITALY 


Ill 


THE  DRAMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE 
IN  ITALY 

WHEN  speaking  of  the  causes  that  paved 
the  way  for  the  Reform  movement  in 
Italy,  I  mentioned,  among  others,  the 
dissemination  of  the  Bible.  We  have  now  come  to 
the  moment  for  going  a  little  deeper  into  this  in- 
teresting and  important  subject.  In  order  to  be 
able  to  form  a  fair  estimate  of  the  value  of  the 
Italian  translations  of  the  Bible,  we  must  begin 
our  researches  "  ab  ovo  ";  that  is,  from  the  very 
first  Latin  translations  of  the  original  texts,  be- 
cause from  these  sprang  the  many  subsequent 
Italian  translations. 


The  first  Latin  translation  we  possess  is  that 
called  by  St.  Augustine  the  "  Itala  "5  this  title, 
however,  we  must  abandon,  because  it  affects  the 
great  question   of   the   origin  of   that  version: 

105 


106     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

namely,  whether  it  originated  in  Rome  or  in  North 
Africa:  the  two  great  centres  of  Western  Chris- 
tianity. St.  Jerome  more  aptly  called  it  "  Vul- 
gata  et  communis  ";  and  so  did  St.  Gregory,  when 
he  named  it  "  the  Vetus,"  "  the  Ancient.' '  At 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  Latin  was 
gradually  becoming  the  language  of  the  West,  and 
was  taking  the  place  of  Greek  as  a  language  in 
common  use.  Now,  St.  Augustine  tells  us  that 
from  the  very  first  introduction  of  Christianity, 
the  Latin  Church  possessed  several  versions  of  the 
Scriptures  by  unknown  authors.  Here  a  new  and 
interesting  problem  arises,  and  that  is  whether 
those  versions  were  really  the  work  of  unknown 
translators.  In  other  words,  whether  it  is  a  fact, 
as  many  suppose,  that  in  those  early  times  any 
one  who  found  a  Greek  text  and  was  possessed  of 
some  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin  translated 
that  text,  or  if  those  versions  were  nothing  more 
or  less  than  variations  of  one  and  the  same  text, 
namely,  the  "  Old  Latin."  I  only  point  out  the 
problem;  its  solution  does  not  concern  us  here. 
The  fact  is  that  of  all  the  versions  or  variations 
of  one  version,  the  "  Old  Latin  "  ended  by  cap- 
tivating the  attention  and  the  confidence  of  the 
Christian  public,  on  account  of  its  fidelity  and 
clearness. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     107 

Where  did  it  first  appear?  As  I  have  already 
said,  it  was  either  in  Rome  or  North  Africa ;  more 
probably,  in  North  Africa.  That  it  appeared 
about  170,  may  be  affirmed  with  confidence. 
Whose  work  it  was,  is  a  mystery.  And  here,  on 
the  threshold  of  the  temple  of  criticism,  we  shall 
stop ;  not,  however,  before  noticing  the  title  of  this 
venerable  version.  St.  Jerome  called  it  later  on 
"  Vulgata  et  communis  ";  that  is  to  say:  "  in  the 
language  of  the  people  and  within  reach  of  all." 
It  is  needless  for  me  to  say  here  that  this  "  Vul- 
gate "  is  previous  to  that  of  St.  Jerome  bearing 
the  same  name.  The  Vulgate  which  we  are  refer- 
ring to  here  belongs  to  the  second  country;  that 
of  St.  Jerome,  which  we  shall  come  to  later,  ap- 
peared about  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  and 
was  known  by  the  name  of  ' '  Vulgate  ' '  later  still. 
We  may  here  observe  that  when  this  very  old  ver- 
sion appeared,  as  the  language  of  the  people  was 
Latin,  the  Bible  was  translated  into  Latin:  the 
language  that  everybody  spoke  and  understood, 
and  that  the  new  translation  was  allowed  a  free 
circulation. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  the 
Western  Church  deeply  felt  the  need  of  an  official 
Latin  text  of  the  Bible.  All  the  numerous  exist- 
ing translations  created  great  confusion,  owing 


108     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

to  the  carelessness  of  the  scribes.  Their  igno- 
rance was  such  that  it  had  reduced  the  Old  Latin 
version  to  a  pitiable  condition.  A  revision  was 
most  necessary;  and  the  providential  man  for  the 
work  appeared  in  St.  Jerome. 

St.  Jerome  was  born  of  a  Christian  family  in 
Stridon,  a  frontier  town  between  Dalmatia  and 
Pannonia,  about  340  or  342.  In  382,  just  when  the 
need  of  that  revision  was  most  deeply  felt  by  the 
Western  Church,  St.  Jerome,  this  great  and 
saintly  man  of  God,  happened  to  be  in  Eome. 
Damaso,1  Bishop  of  Eome,  perceived  at  once  that 
here  was  the  man  for  this  important  work.  He 
had  already  been  attracted  by  St.  Jerome,  had  be- 
come his  protector,  and  had  chosen  him  as  his 
private  secretary;  he,  therefore,  entrusted  him 
with  the  very  delicate  duty  of  revising  the  Vulgate. 
Jerome,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  Latin, 
Greek,  and  Hebrew,2  set  to  work.  He  collated 
texts,  corrected  existing  versions,  translated  part 
of  the  originals  anew,  and  in  383  published  the 

*d.  384. 

3 "  In  later  years,  when  he  was  translating  the  Old  Testament 
from  the  original,  he  had  attained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
Hebrew  language,  while  long  residence  and  travel  in  the  East 
had  given  him  that  first-hand  acquaintance  with  the  country  and 
its  customs  which  must  be  invaluable  to  any  one  undertaking  a 
task  of  this  nature." — H.  J.  White  in  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
edited  by  J.  Hastings,  D.D. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     109 

four  Gospels ;  then,  in  the  same  year  or  not  much 
later,  he  published  the  Acts  and  the  rest  of  the 
New  Testament ;  and  between  390  and  405,  he  pub- 
lished the  Old  Testament.  In  short,  this  is  what 
he  did.  He  took  the  Apocrypha  as  it  stood,  from 
the  Old  Latin  version.  From  the  same  Old  Latin 
version,  he  took  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament 
and  the  Psalter,  amending  them  where  necessary. 
The  other  books  of  the  Jewish  Canon  he  translated 
anew  from  the  Hebrew. 

St.  Jerome's  Vulgate  is  a  great  work;  the  work 
of  a  philologian,  not  always  immaculate,  but 
learned  and  conscientious.  He  is  at  times  more  an 
interpreter  or  a  paraphrast  than  a  translator;  at 
other  times  he  is  inclined  to  give  a  Messianic 
significance  to  passages  which  they  have  not  got 
in  the  original  text ;  generally  his  work  is  not  at 
the  same  level  of  excellence  throughout;  some 
books  have  been  translated  in  such  haste  that  they 
almost  indicate  negligence  and  slovenly  work.  In 
spite  of  all  this,  St.  Jerome  has  left  a  work  which, 
on  the  whole,  is  one  of  profound  doctrine  and  of 
exquisite  workmanship. 

How  did  the  public  receive  it?  As  soon  as  the 
Gospels  appeared,  criticism  commenced;  and  what 
severe  criticism  it  was !  When  the  Old  Testament 
was  published  and  the  clerical  aristarchs  noticed 


110     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

that  Jerome  had  not  followed  the  Septuagint  but 
had  translated  directly  from  the  Hebrew  text, 
criticism  became  more  and  more  violent.  Vile 
rumours  were  spread  secretly ;  and  the  enemies  of 
anything  new  did  not  hesitate  to  assert  emphat- 
ically that  they  were  perfectly  content  with  the 
translations  they  already  possessed,  and  that  they 
did  not  desire  or  need  such  innovations.  Mean- 
while, the  ignorant  clergy  who  considered  the  Sep- 
tuagint as  heaven-sent  and  divinely  inspired,  and 
those  who  envied  the  great  man,  were  beside  them- 
selves with  joy.  Even  St.  Augustine3  viewed 
askance  the  work  of  Jerome.  The  following  is  an 
incident ;  a  very  small  one,  but  most  symptomatic.4 
A  certain  African  bishop  thought  of  adopting 
Jerome's  translation  for  public  worship  in  his 
church.  There  seemed  at  the  moment  to  be  no 
difficulty  in  the  way.  But,  suddenly,  one  day,  this 
awful  discovery  was  made:  that  in  the  passage 
of  the  book  of  Jonah  where  it  is  said  that  the 
"  Lord  God  prepared  a  gourd  and  made  it  to  come 
up  over  Jonah,  that  it  might  be  a  shadow  over  his 
head,  to  deliver  him  from  his  grief,"4  Jerome 

•  354-430.  St.  Augustine  in  his  Xth  Letter  clearly  says  that 
"  Jerome's  version  differs  much  from  the  authentic  Septuagint 
and  that  the  Jews  also  are  averse  to  it."  And  in  his  XlXth 
Letter  he  says  emphatically  that  he  is  not  inclined  either  to 
adopt  it  himself,  or  to  allow  it  to  be  read  in  his  church. 

'See  Hastings:  Diet,  of  the  Bible. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    111 

had  taken  the  great  liberty  of  introducing  an 
innovation.  ."  Gourd,"  in  Hebrew,  is  called 
"  K IK A  JON  ";  now,  the  ancient  Latin  transla- 
tors had  rendered  KIKAJON  as  cucurbita; 
Jerome,  instead,  had  dared  to  translate  it  as 
hedera  (ivy) .  Could  you  believe  it  1  This  novelty, 
introduced  into  a  passage  so  well  known  to  every- 
body, became  the  cause  of  a  terrible  turmoil ;  and 
if  the  good  bishop  had  not  hastened  to  change 
hedera  back  to  cucurbita,  he  would  soon  have  seen 
his  church  empty. 

And  what  of  Jerome?  He  was  a  saint;  but  one 
of  those  saints  who  might  be  called  "  short-tem- 
pered ";  he  had  a  ready  tongue,  a  fiery  character, 
and  knew  how  to  retaliate.  He  called  his  venom- 
ous critics  "homunculi"  (manikins),  and  "  bi- 
pedes  aselli  "  (two-legged  asses) ;  and  when  writ- 
ing to  Marcella  said :  ' '  I  might  cover  them  with 
contempt.  What  is  the  good  of  playing  a  harp 
to  asses?  If  they  do  not  feel  inclined  to  drink 
water  flowing  from  a  pure  source,  let  them  then 
drink  the  slush  from  the  muddy  pools !  "  But  the 
storm  gradually  blew  over,  as  all  storms  fortu- 
nately do ;  and  when  the  stormy  life  of  the  non- 
agenarian Jerome  closed  in  Bethlehem  in  420,  his 
translation  had  already  begun  to  make  its  way. 
For  a  long  time  the  Old  Latin  and  Jerome's  new 


112     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

version  were  used  indifferently  in  churches,  ac- 
cording to  the  taste  of  each,  or  the  desire  of  their 
founders ;  and  it  was  only  in  the  seventh  century, 
when  Gregory  1 5  bestowed  upon  it  his  papal  ap- 
proval, that  Jerome's  translation  came  into  gen- 
eral use.  In  the  thirteenth  century  it  began  to  be 
known  under  its  present  name  "  The  Vulgate  " 
(Editio  vulgata) ;  and  in  1545  the  Council  of  Trent 
declared  it  authentic*  including  freedom  from 

6  540-604. 

6 The  Council  decreed  (Sess.  IV)  "earn  esse  ex  omnibus  latinis 
editionibus  quae  circumferunt,  pro  authentica  habendam ";  or 
"  that  the  Vulgate,  of  all  the  Latin  versions  in  circulation  at  the 
time,  should  be  recognised  as  the  authentic  version."  And  here 
the  correct  meaning  of  the  decree  must  be  grasped.  The  word 
authentic,  the  Roman  Catholic  theology  says,  implies  the  con- 
ception of  authority;  and,  properly  and  generally,  signifies:  auc- 
toritate  munitum:  what  is  authoritative;  what  has  the  weight 
of  authority.  Any  document  whatever  may,  therefore,  be  au- 
thentic in  various  ways  and  degrees,  (a)  If  it  be  an  autograph, 
an  original,  its  authenticity  is  absolute,  and  is  called  "  authen- 
ticity of  identity."  (b)  If  it  be  an  apograph,  that  is  to  say,  a 
copy  of  the  original,  its  authenticity  is  relative,  and  is  called 
"authenticity  of  agreement."  (c)  If  it  be  a  translation,  its 
authenticity  is  here  also  relative,  and  is  called  "  authenticity  of 
faithfulness."  Then,  there  are  two  kinds  of  authenticity:  The 
intrinsic  (that  which  arises  from  the  very  nature  of  the  auto- 
graph, from  the  agreement  with  the  autograph,  or  from  the  truth- 
fulness of  the  version  as  regards  its  reproduction  of  the  original ) , 
and  the  extrinsic  (that  which  is  given  to  a  writing  by  other  valid 
reasons;  and  in  the  case  of  the  version  of  the  Bible,  by  the  au- 
thoritative declaration  of  the  Church). 

Now,  two  things  are  to  be  noted:  the  object  which  the  decree 
of  the  Trent  Council  had  in  view,  and  the  way  in  which  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  Vulgate  is  to  be  understood.     As  far  as  the 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     113 

errors  which  might  lead  believers  astray  as  far 
as  doctrine  and  moral  conduct  are  concerned. 
Now,  to  that  decree  of  the  famous  Council  we  must 
attribute  the  origin  of  three  evils.  Firstly :  As  a 
consequence  of  the  decree,  the  originals  of  the 
Bible,  in  the  Church  of  Eome  were  completely 
neglected.  The  Church  had  now  the  Vulgate  and 
that  was  enough.  Secondly :  Since  the  decree,  the 
Eoman  Church  has  had  several  new  Italian  trans- 
lations of  the  Bible;  but  they  are  not  translations 
from  the  original  texts,  but  from  the  Vulgate; 
which  means  that  they  are  translations  of  a  trans- 
lation, and  of  a  translation  not  free  from  defects.7 

object  is  concerned,  it  is  clear  that  the  decree  does  not  refer 
either  to  the  originals,  or  to  the  old  versions  of  the  Oriental  or 
of  the  Western  Churches,  but  only  to  the  Latin  versions  in  cir- 
culation at  the  time.  As  far  as  the  way  in  which  the  authenticity 
is  concerned,  the  authenticity  of  the  Vulgate  is  understood  to  be 
extrinsic  and  intrinsic;  extrinsic,  inasmuch  as  it  has  been  authori- 
tatively declared  to  be  the  only  authentic  version  accepted  by  the 
Church;  intrinsic,  inasmuch  as  in  its  principal  and  substantial 
parts  relating  to  belief  and  to  morals  it  is  faithful  to  the  original. 
7Rufinus,  a  priest  of  Aquileia  (d.  408),  wrote  a  special  book 
with  the  intention  of  pointing  out  to  Jerome  (who,  in  374,  was 
his  friend)  the  mistakes  of  the  Vulgate  and  criticising  them. 
The  very  learned  Sisto  da  Siena  (XVI  cent.)  in  his  valuable 
work,  BiMiotheca  Santa  (7th  Book),  maintains  that  a  large 
number  of  passages  are  to  be  found  in  the  Vulgate  differing 
from  the  original  text.  The  famous  Dominican  theologian, 
Natalis  Alexander  (1639-1724),  in  a  long  and  learned  disserta- 
tion, speaks  of  and  proves  the  mistakes  in  the  Vulgate,  and 
quotes  103  passages,  which,  he  says,  are  completely  falsified. 
Santi    Pagnini    and    Benedetto    Montano     (called    also    Arias), 


114     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Thirdly :  The  decree  led  to  the  complete  abandon- 
ment of  the  critical  and  exegetical  study  of  the 
original  texts:  a  study  which  was  instead  culti- 
vated with  rare  zeal  and  great  skill  in  the  churches 
over  which  the  Council  of  Trent  had  no  authority. 
The  abandonment  of  such  a  study  of  the  Bible  is 
now  producing  very  interesting  consequences.  In 
our  day,  when  biblical  study  is  being  cultivated 
in  a  surprising  manner  in  the  Church  of  Kome, 
Eoman  Catholic  students  are  obliged  to  draw  their 
materials  from  those  very  Protestant  sources 
against  which  the  Council  of  Trent  had  hurled 
its  furious  "  anathemas.' ' 

But  let  us  go  back  to  the  Vulgate.  When  once 
adopted  universally  in  the  Western  Church,  copies 
rapidly  multiplied;  and  with  the  multiplication 
of  copies,  mistakes  also  were  multiplied;  these 
mistakes  were  due,  almost  always,  to  ignorance; 

two  Orientalists  of  great  repute  and  most  zealous  Roman 
Catholics,  translated  the  Bible  anew  from  the  originals  in  order 
to  revise  the  many  mistakes  in  the  Vulgate.  And  here  an  im- 
portant fact  is  worth  mentioning.  When  the  Council  of  Trent 
asserted  the  Vulgate  "  esse  ex  omnibus  latinis  editionibus  quae 
circumferunt,  pro  authentica  habendam,"  it  made  a  gross  scientific 
error.  At  the  time  of  the  Council  (1545-1563),  the  Latin  trans- 
lation which  the  Dominican  Santi  Pagnini  had  edited  at  Lyons 
in  1527-1528,  and  dedicated  to  Clement  VII,  had  already  been 
issued.  In  any  case,  that  was  the  translation  which,  already 
authentic  by  intrinsic  authentia,  the  Council  should  have  de- 
clared authentic  "  out  of  all  the  Latin  versions  in  circulation  at 
the  time  "  by  extrinsic  authentia,  instead  of  St.  Jerome's  Vulgate. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    115 

sometimes,  to  malice.  Attempts  were  made  to 
correct  them;  but  they  brought  more  confusion 
than  enlightenment.  Even  to  the  54  bishops  who, 
at  Trent,  had  declared  it  "  authentic,' '  tangible 
proofs  were  produced  to  show  that  the  Vulgate 
was  swarming  with  mistakes.  But  what  was  to  be 
done?  A  decree  of  that  nature  is  infallible  and 
cannot  be  withdrawn.  Sixtus  V  then  intervened, 
and  appointed  a  special  committee,  headed  by 
Cardinal  Caraffa;  and  this  Committee  he  en- 
trusted with  the  revision  of  the  Vulgate,  whilst 
he  also  threw  himself  into  the  work.  In  1590, 
Sixtus  V  published  a  new  and  splendid  edition 
of  the  Vulgate,  and  solemnly  declared  in  a  Bull 
that  the  ' '  authentic  ' '  Vulgate  referred  to  by  the 
Council  of  Trent  was  the  one  he  had  published; 
and  threatened  with  the  punishments  laid  down  by 
that  Council  all  those  who  dared  to  question  his 
dictum.  A  true  case,  as  every  one  perceives,  of 
sleight  of  hand.  But,  alas,  even  the  Bible  of  Six- 
tus V  was  soon  found  to  be  faulty;  and  among 
others,  by  the  very  famous  Jesuit  Bellarmino.8 
Sixtus  V  had  mortally  offended  the  Jesuits  by 
having  placed  a  book  by  Bellarmino  9  on  the  Index. 
And  when  one  has  mortally  offended  the  Jesuits 
(Sixtus  V  should  have  known  it!),  there  is  very 

•d.   1621.  9De  dominio  Papce  directo. 


116     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

little  chance  of  his  being  left  in  peace.  Bellarmino 
did  not  lose  such  a  favourable  opportunity ;  after 
having  ascertained  with  great  care  the  numerous 
mistakes  in  the  papal  edition,  he  openly  condemned 
it  in  a  strong  letter  to  Clement  VIII.  The  out- 
burst caused  by  that  step  was  such  that  Clement 
was  obliged  to  withdraw  all  the  copies,  and  to 
order  a  revised  and  corrected  edition  of  the  Vul- 
gate. This  new  edition  was  issued  in  January, 
1592;  and  in  order  to  avoid  any  possible  objec- 
tions and  not  to  run  the  risk  of  compromising  the 
papal  authority,  Clement  availed  himself  of  what 
we  shall  call  a  "  pious  fraud."  He  ordered  that 
the  name  of  Sixtus  should  appear  on  the  title  page 
as  the  author,  instead  of  his  own;  so  that  the 
public,  which  generally  does  not  examine  these 
features  too  closely,  was  led  to  believe  that  his 
(the  Clementine)  Bible  was  that  of  Sixtus.  The 
Preface  to  the  Clementine  edition  was  written  by 
Bellarmino,  who  artfully  informed  the  reader 
that  just  as  the  Sistine  edition  was  about  to  be 
issued,  Sixtus  V  had  noticed  several  errors  and 
had  ordered  that  edition  to  be  withdrawn  and  a 
new  one  to  be  prepared.  Bellarmino  also  stated 
that  the  death  of  Sixtus  had  prevented  this  being 
done,  but  that  Clement  VIII  was  carrying  out  the 
intentions  of  Sixtus. — It  should  be  noted  here,  as 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy  117 
a  fact  worthy  of  attention,  that  the  Sistine  edition 
contains  not  more  than  about  forty  printers7  er- 
rors, whereas  the  Clementine  edition  differs  from 
the  Sistine  in  about  three  thousand  places.10 


In  Italy,  the  first  versions  of  the  Bible  lead  us 
back  to  the  time  when  Latin  was  the  language  of 
the  learned  and  the  clerics,  whilst  Italian  was  that 
of  the  people.     The  name  "  Vulgate  "  for  the 
popular  edition  of  the  Bible  in  Latin,  therefore, 
became  a  misnomer,  and  a  necessity  very  naturally 
arose  for  a  translation  of  the  Latin  text,  which 
the  uncultured  laymen  no  longer  understood,  into 
the  spoken  language.    We  possess  few  vague  and 
uncertain  indications  of  the  very  first  translations. 
We  know  only  this  about  them:  that  they  were 
taken  not  from  the  originals  but  from  the  Vul- 
gate; that  they  were  generally  the  work  of  priests 
or  friars,  and  that  they  appeared  in  the  twelfth 
and  thirteenth  centuries  when  movements  were 

10  A  Commission  has  been  appointed  by  the  Church  authorities 
in  Rome  with  a  view  to  restoring  the  Vulgate  of  St.  Jerome  to 
its  primitive  text.  Meanwhile,  the  Latin  New  Testament  has 
already  been  published  in  very  valuable  critical  editions  by  the 
B.  and  F.  Bible  Society  jointly  with  the  Oxford  University  Press, 
and  by  Dr.  Eberhard  Nestle  of  Maulbronn. 


118     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

arising  to  protest  against  the  Court  of  Borne.11 
These  movements  were  led  by  men  who  vowed 
themselves  to  poverty  in  order  to  be  better  able 
to  counteract  the  craving  for  worldliness,  earthly 
power,  and  material  riches  which  had  invaded  the 
Church.  These  heroic  rebels  against  Kome  drew 
all  the  inspiration,  strength,  and  comfort  they 
needed  for  their  great  work  from  the  Bible. 
Professor  S.  Minocchi,  in  a  valuable  pamphlet  on 
The  Bible  in  the  History  of  Italy,  says :  "  The  Old 
Testament  was  little  liked  by  many;  some  sects 
of  the  Catharists  believed  it  to  be  written  by  the 
Evil  One,  and  considered  it  the  Gospel  of  Satan 
as  opposed  to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus.  Nevertheless, 
among  the  Waldenses  and  others,  versions  of  its 
most  noted  and  precious  books,  such  as  the  Psalms, 
the  book  of  those  who  suffer,  pray,  and  hope,  or 
the  Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes,  which  are  full  of 
such  deep  wisdom  and  profound  melancholy,  were 
largely  circulated.  The  New  Testament  was 
sought  after,  and  so  was  spread  about ;  and  in  its 
pages  were  found  the  condemnation  of  the  Church 
of  Eome  and  of  its  faulty  clergy,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  hope  of  a  religious  revival  among  the 

11  Let  it  be  sufficient  to  mention :  th«  Catharists  of  North  Ital j 
(XII  cent.),  Pietro  di  Bruys  (d.  1124),  Amalrico  di  Bene  (d. 
about  1207),  Peter  Valdo  (d.  1197),  the  Patarenes  (XII  and 
XIII  cent.). 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    119 

people.  The  book  of  the  Revelation,  in  the  image 
of  Babylon,  gave  them  a  picture  of  the  horrors  of 
the  Church;  in  the  New  Jerusalem  they  viewed 
the  Christian  restoration,  which  they  were  long- 
ing for.  The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  fascinated  them 
by  their  deep  religious  feeling,  their  wisdom  so 
profound,  their  thought  so  spiritually  free,  their 
description  of  customs  so  simple.  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  gave  them  an  insuperable  model  of  a 
poor,  virtuous,  and  happy  life,  such  as  that  of  the 
primitive  Christians  with  their  simple  rites  and 
with  their  having  all  things  in  common.  But  it  was 
the  Gospel,  above  all,  that  showed  them,  in  the 
poor  and  humble  figure  of  Jesus,  the  perfect  ideal 
of  true  religious  life,  so  different  from  that  of  the 
ostentatious  pontiffs  of  Rome!  "12 

About  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  there 
appeared  in  Italy  the  first  Italian  version  of  the 
Bible.  Whose  work  was  it?  Literary  tradition 
has  attributed  it  to  one  or  other  of  the  three  great 
Dominicans,  Jacopo  da  Voragine,  Archbishop  of 
Genoa,  Jacopo  Passavanti,  and  Domenico  Cavalca. 
Professor  Minocchi  calls  that  tradition  "  a  triple 
hypothesis  without  any  foundation. ' '  According 
to  his  views,  the  thirteenth  century  version  of  the 

u  Salvatore  Minocchi :  La  Bibbia  nella  Storia  d'ltalia.  Firenze, 
1904. 


120     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Italian  Bible  "  sprang,  like  many  of  the  other  old 
versions,  anonymously,  from  the  people  who  re- 
quired a  means  of  affirming  the  religious  ideas 
born  in  them  by  the  change  that  had  taken  place 
in  their  minds  and  conscience.  But  if  we  consider 
its  intimate  relationship  with  the  contemporary 
heretical  translations  of  France,  Provence,  and 
Savoy,  we  may  safely  believe  that  the  first  Italian 
version  had  its  origin  in  some  centres  of  the  sect 
called  the  '  Poor  of  Italy  ' ;  and  if  we  consider 
its  phraseology,  we  may  hold  even  more  definitely, 
that  it  was  issued  by  the  Tuscan  Patarenes." 13 

Professor  Minocchi's  opinion  will  not  be  con- 
sidered altogether  groundless  when  we  bear  in 
mind  that  it  is  not  a  fact,  as  some  say,  that  the 
public  was  averse  to  the  Bible  and  to  reading  it, 
in  the  century  of  Dante  and  those  immediately 
preceding  and  following  it.  That  the  people  did 
read  and  cherished  the  Bible  is  clearly  shown  by 
the  Manuscripts  of  those  days.  '  *  The  Florentine 
Libraries  alone,"  says  Professor  Minocchi,  "  pos- 
sess more  than  fifty  of  them;  and  others  are  at 
Siena,  Venice,  and  in  other  cities.  .  .  .  And  all 
such  Manuscripts  had  evidently  their  origin 
among  the  people.  The  Gospels  in  the  San  Marco 
Library  in  Venice  were  written  by  a  poor  prisoner 

13  Ibid. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     121 
from  Trieste,  who  comforted  himself  in  the  gloomy 
silence  of  the  '  Pozzi,'  by  copying  them.    Nearly 
all  the  Florentine  manuscripts  were  copied  by 
nobles,  merchants,  notaries,  and  artisans,  for  their 
own  private  use.     In  a  ledger  belonging  to  the 
celebrated  family  <  dei  Eicci  '  is  to  be  seen  a  tran- 
scription of  the  whole  book  of  Genesis;  other 
manuscripts  bear  names  well  known  in  the  com- 
mercial aristocracy  of  the  fifteenth  century,  such 
as  Strozzi,  Serragli,  Vettori,  Mellini,  Baroni.    Our 
good  old  ancestors,  then,  at  any  rate  before  the 
ducal  yoke  of  the  Medici  fell  on  the  neck  of  their 
children,  read  the  Bible.     Moreover,  during  the 
very  years  that  Savonarola  was  condemning  from 
his  pulpit  in  S.  Marco  the  paganism  of  the  Eenais- 
sance  in  the  name  of  the  Bible  for  the  freedom 
of  his  people,  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  in  the  restful 
peace  of  Poggio  a  Caiano,  was  teaching  his  chil- 
dren to  read  the  Gospels  and  the  Psalms.    That 
high-spirited  sceptic,  even  in  the  midst  of  his  wild 
revelry,  had  not  forgotten  the  legacy  of  the  Bible 
which  his  mother,  Lucrezia  Tornabuoni,  had  left 
him."14 

In  1471  there  appeared  in  Venice  two  editions 
of  a  translation  by  Nicolo  Malherbi,  a  monk  of 
Camaldoli.    There  is  now  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
"Ibid. 


122     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

he  was  no  other  than  "an  impudent  plagiarist 
who  was  so  audacious  as  not  only  to  ill-use  the 
golden  version  of  the  thirteenth  century,  but  even 
to  ascribe  it  to  himself.,,  15 

We  now  come  to  the  century  of  the  Kef  ormation. 
The  Bible,  which  had  been  almost  forgotten  dur- 
ing and  on  account  of  the  Renaissance,  became 
again,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  book  most 
sought  after  and  the  most  read,  as  providing  the 
greatest  food  for  thought  and  meditation. 
Learned  men  read  it  in  its  Latin  versions;  the 
people  returned  eagerly  to  the  search  of  the 
Italian  version  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and, 
therefore,  complete  or  partial  editions  of  the  Bible 
multiplied  in  Florence  and  Venice.  The  thirteenth 
century  version,  however,  was  no  longer  able  to 
supply  the  want  of  the  times.  The  need  of  a  new 
translation  was  deeply  felt;  and  he  who  supplied 
this  want  in  Italy  was  a  Florentine  man  of  letters : 
Antonio  Brucioli,  whose  translation  appeared  in 
Venice  in  1532.  Brucioli,  was  a  red-hot  repub- 
lican, highly  gifted,  and  a  skilled  writer  on  sacred 

"The  first  edition  (by  Wendelino  da  Spira,  in  August,  1471) 
was  the  more  correct,  and  was  published  in  a  convenient  size; 
the  second  edition  (by  Nicola  Jenson  in  October,  1471),  full  of 
misprints  but  more  correct  where  Wendelino's  text  had  been  fol- 
lowed, was  the  only  edition  issued;  and  it  could  not  be  other- 
wise, considering  that  it  was  of  a  large,  most  incommodious  size, 
and  therefore  perfectly  useless  to  the  public. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     123 

subjects ;  he  was  for  a  long  time  recognised  as  a 
powerful  champion  of  the  religious  reformation; 
but  as  he  unfortunately  recanted  later,  though 
much  may  be  said  in  mitigation,  a  shadow  was 
cast  on  his  fame.  "  Had  he  remained  steadfast/ ' 
says  Dr.  G.  P.  Pons,  who  exhumed  the  record  of 
his  trial  from  the  Archives  of  the  "  Frari  "  in 
Venice,  l  i  no  one,  better  than  he,  would  have  hon- 
oured the  Eeformation.,,  16  Brucioli's  version, 
which  was  based  not  on  the  originals  but  on  the 
Latin  version  by  Santi  Pagnini 1T  of  Lucca,  was 
revised  by  the  Florentine  Santi  Marmocchino  of 
the  Preaching-friars,  and  by  Filippo  Eustici,  a 
medical  man  from  Lucca.18  Fra  Zaccaria  of 
Florence,  a  Dominican  friar,  also  published  a 
New  Testament;  but  this  was  only  Marmocchi- 
no's  version  reissued  under  Fra  Zaccaria 's 
name.10 

With  the  mention  of  the  translations  of  the  New 
Testament  by  Castelvetro  (Lodovico  Mura tori's 
evidence  on  this  point  is  open  to  doubt),  by  Mas- 
simo Teofilo,  a  Florentine,20  and  by  several  other 
anonymous  translators,  and  by  the  two  transla- 
tions of  the  whole  Bible  by  Giovanni  Diodati  and 

18 G.  P.  Pons:   Antonio  Bruoioli,  in  Rivista  Cristiana.     Anno 
III,  1°  Serie.    See  E.  Comba:  Intr.  alia  St.  d.  Rif.  in  Italia. 
"1527.  18S.  Marmocchino,  1538;  Ph.  Rustici,  1562. 

"  1542.  ■  1551. 


124     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Monsignor  Antonio  Martini,  we  come  to  the  end 
of  all  that  is  of  interest  to  us  here. 

As  the  translations  of  the  Bible  by  Diodati  and 
Martini  are  now  the  official  translations  in  both 
the  Italian  Protestant  and  Eoman  Catholic 
Churches,  we  are  constrained  to  say  something 
more  about  them. 


Let  us  hie  in  imagination  to  Lucca,  the  capital 
of  the  small  Eepublic,  which  I  have  already  men- 
tioned in  a  previous  chapter,  and  one  of  the 
Italian  towns  most  influenced  by  the  Eeformation. 
The  pious  and  learned  Agostinian  Pier  Martire 
Vermigli 21  founded  a  School  there,  which  he  in- 
tended should  have  been  to  Italy  what  Witten- 
berg was  to  Germany. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1541,  there  was  great 
excitement  in  Lucca,  which  was  awaiting  the  ar- 
rival of  Pope  Paul  III  and  the  Emperor  Charles 
V.  These,  the  two  most  powerful  Sovereigns  in 
the  world,  had  arranged  to  meet  there  in  order 
to  discuss  several  matters  of  great  importance. 
Among  the  most  prominent  of  these  were  the 
Protestant  revolution  in  Germany  and  the  con- 
vocation of  the  Council  of  Trent  so  insistently 

*■  1500-1562. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    125 

demanded  on  all  sides ;  moreover,  the  Turks  were 
also  at  that  time  causing  those  crowned  heads  no 
little  trouble. 

The  two  potentates  arrived  at  last,  and  were  met 
by  the  head  of  the  republic,  Michele  Diodati.  On 
the  17th  September,  when  Messer  Michele  had 
so  much  to  attend  to,  Donna  Anna,  his  wife,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  son.  Charles  V  and  Paul  III 
soon  came  to  hear  of  this  interesting  event,  and 
sent  for  the  proud  father. — "  I  wish  to  be  his  god- 
father, and  the  child  to  bear  my  name,"  said 
Charles.  And  Paul  added:  "  I  shall  administer 
the  sacrament." 

Do  you  know  who  this  Carlo  Diodati  became? 
A  staunch  Protestant,  and  the  father  of  Giovanni, 
the  translator  of  the  Italian  Protestant  Bible. 
See  the  irony  of  human  events !  Neither  the  fact 
of  being  held  at  the  baptismal  font  by  an  emperor 
hostile  to  the  Eeformation  as  Charles  V  was,  nor 
the  sacrament  administered  by  a  Pope  such  as 
Paul  III,  were  sufficient  to  preserve  Carlo  Diodati 
and  his  posterity  from  the  taint  of  heresy! 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  Reformation,  the 
visit  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope  was  a  disaster 
to  Lucca.  Pier  Martire  Vermigli,  first  closely 
watched,  had  at  length  to  flee ;  the  School  he  had 
founded   was   broken   up;    and   many  who   had 


126     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

adopted  the  new  ideas,  after  no  little  persecution, 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  country.  Carlo  Dio- 
dati,  when  grown  up,  went  to  Lyons  for  instruction 
in  commerce ;  there,  the  seed  sown  in  his  heart  by 
Pier  Martire,  began  to  spring  up.  When  the  mas- 
sacre of  the  Huguenots22  struck  all  Protestant 
France  with  terror,  Carlo  fled  to  Geneva.  There 
he  openly  declared  his  adherence  to  the  reformed 
Church.  He  married  twice,  and  by  his  second  wife 
had  seven  children;  Giovanni,  the  eldest,  was 
born  on  the  3d  June,  1576,  and  baptised  by  Nic- 
cola  Balbani,  also  an  exile  from  Lucca. 

Giovanni  Diodati  at  the  age  of  19  was  already 
a  Doctor  in  Divinity;  at  21  he  was  Professor  of 
Hebrew  in  the  Genevan  Academy.  In  1603  he  be- 
gan to  translate  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments 
from  the  originals ;  in  1607  he  published  his  trans- 
lation at  Geneva,  which  was  republished  soon  after 
in  a  second  edition,  and  in  1641  he  issued  a  third 
edition  with  notes. 

As  soon  as  the  version  appeared,  published  at 
his  own  expense,  which  reduced  him  to  utmost 
poverty,  it  was  most  favourably  received  by  the 
best  men  of  the  time.  Even  those  who  criticised 
it  pitilessly  were,  nevertheless,  bound  to  recog- 
nise that  it  was  a  great  and  most  valuable  work, 

a  1572. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     127 

even  though  the  Old  Testament  was  a  better  work 
than  the  New.  There  is  no  doubt  about  it,  that 
it  surpasses  all  the  other  Italian  translations  of 
the  Bible.  The  Italian  exiles  immediately  recog- 
nised its  superiority,  and  began  to  make  use  of  it, 
putting  aside  the  versions  by  Malherbi,  Massimo 
Teofilo,  and  Brucioli,  which  they  had  been  using 
up  to  that  time ;  and  though  it  is  not  a  fact  that 
it  is  cited  by  the  Accademia  della  Crusca  for  its 
classic  language,  as  many  have  asserted,  Cesare 
Cantu  among  others,  yet  it  has  at  all  times  de- 
served the  praise  even  of  Eoman  Catholic  critics, 
and  of  men  such  as  Scaligero,  Giordani,  Cardinal 
Mai,  and  Monsignor  Tiboni.  Eight  years  after 
the  publication  of  his  translation,23  Giovanni 
Diodati  entered  into  his  rest,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
three,  mourned  by  all  Geneva. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  Eoman  Catholic  trans- 
lation by  Monsignor  Antonio  Martini- 
Martini  was  born  at  Prato  in  Tuscany  on  the 
20th  April,  1720. 

He  was  Principal  of  the  College  of  Superga,  in 
Piedmont,  when  he  issued  his  translations  of  the 
New  and  Old  Testaments  in  1769  and  1776  re- 
spectively. As  Professor  Minocchi  says,  "  these 
simple  dates  cover  a  long  and  most  deplorable 

28 13th  October,  1649. 


128     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

history  of  envy,  calumny  and  intrigue,  by  means 
of  which  many  prelates  and  clerics,  at  Eome  and 
Turin,  tried  their  best  to  ruin  the  success  of  Mar- 
tini's work  and  to  throw  him  into  the  hands  of  the 
Holy  Office. " 24  On  account  of  his  noble  work, 
Pius  VI,  urged  by  the  strong  recommendations  of 
the  House  of  Savoy,  conferred  on  Martini  the 
bishopric  of  Bobbio ;  and  Martini  was  on  his  way 
to  Eome  to  be  consecrated,  when  the  Grand  Duke 
Leopold  I  of  Tuscany  stopped  him,  and  succeeded 
in  persuading  him  to  accept  the  archbishopric  of 
Florence ;  and  there  he  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-nine  years. 

What  was  his  purpose  when  he  undertook  the 
translation  of  the  Bible?  He  has  told  it  himself 
in  the  Preface  to  his  work:  "  My  purpose,' '  he 
says,  "  has  been  to  translate  faithfully  our  Vul- 
gate." And  further  on:  "  What  I  have  aimed  at 
is  to  prepare  a  strictly  literal  translation  of  the 
Vulgate,  keeping,  as  far  as  possible,  the  same 
phrases,  the  same  images,  the  same  order  of  the 
words."  Such  was  his  plan.  Whereas  in  Dio- 
dati's  version  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  on  the  whole  better  than  that  of  the  New,  so 
Martini's  translation  of  the  New  Testament  is 

"  See  Cesare  Guasti :  Storia  aneddota  del  volgarizzamento  dei 
due  Testamenti,  fatto  dalV  Ab.  Antonio  Martini,  in  Rassegna 
Xazionale,  16  Sett.   1885,  pp.  235-282. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    129 

better  than  that  of  the  Old ;  and,  as  I  have  already 
stated  that  Diodati's  translation  is  the  best  of 
all  the  ancient  Italian  translations  taken  directly 
from  the  originals,  so  I  am  bound  to  say  that 
Martini's  translation  is  one  of  the  best  of  the 
Italian  translations  of  the  Vulgate.  But  the  great 
drawback  to  a  work  such  as  that  is  that  Martini 
translates  from  the  Vulgate,  which,  as  I  have  al- 
ready shown,  is  far  from  being  perfect;  so  that, 
even  overlooking  the  many  inherent  defects  of 
Martini's  version,  the  fact  remains  that  it  is  noth- 
ing but  a  good  rendering  of  an  imperfect  transla- 
tion. This  is  sufficient  to  show  that,  compared 
with  Diodati's  version,  it  is  found  to  be  greatly 
inferior. 


Since  Martini's  time  endeavours  have  not  been 
wanting  to  provide  Italy  with  a  version  of  the 
New  Testament  and  portions  of  the  Old  more  true 
to  the  original  and  more  modern  in  language  and 
expression.  Attempts  were  made  by  G.  B.  de 
Eossi,  Samuele  David  Luzzatto,  David  Castelli; 
Gregorio  Ugdulena,  Niccolo  Tommaseo,  Carlo 
Curci,  Salvatore  Minocchi;  Alberto  Kevel,  Gio- 
vanni Biava,  Oscar  Cocorda;  but  inasmuch  as 
they  were  simply  individual  efforts,  they  did  not 


130     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

and  could  not  succeed  in  ensuring  for  them  the 
favour  of  the  general  public. 

A  strange,  unexpected,  and  incredible  event 
now  occurred  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

Let  us  trace  the  steps  which  led  up  to  it. 

In  1564  Pius  IV,  in  order  to  check  any  possible 
attempt  at  a  Eeform  movement  in  Italy,  pro- 
hibited the  reading  of  any  version  whatever  of  the 
Bible.  In  1757,  Benedict  XIV,25  to  the  great  dis- 
gust of  several  bishops  and  cardinals,  revoked 
the  decree  of  Pius  IV ;  but  the  revocation  of  Bene- 
dict became  a  dead  letter  under  Clement  XIII,26 
who  succeeded  him.  He  was  a  man  of  narrow  and 
despicable  views,  intolerant  of  progress,  and  quite 
different  to  his  predecessor.  Martini  had  to  wait 
until  the  pontificate  of  Clement  XIV,27  a  pontiff  of 
broad  views  and  similar  in  this  respect  to  Bene- 
dict, before  he  was  able  to  begin  his  work.  Mar- 
tini's Bible  was  not  popular;  it  was  published  in 
large  unwieldy  volumes,  with  long  and  wearisome 
explanatory  notes,  and  in  most  editions  with  the 
Latin  text  in  parallel  columns.  It  was  written  in 
a  polemic  and  apologetic  spirit,  more  with  the 
intention  of  commenting  on  the  text  than  with 

■  1740-1758.  M  1758-1769. 

*  1769-1774.  The  Pope  who,  on  the  21st  July,  1773,  sup- 
pressed the  Order  of  the  Jesuits  was  Clement  XIV  (Lorenzo 
Ganganelli). 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    131 

regard  to  clear  and  simple  explanations.  It,  there- 
fore, could  not  and  did  not  become  popular ;  and 
those  who  wished  to  read  the  Bible,  in  spite  of 
clerical  prohibition  and  prejudice,  preferred  Dio- 
dati's  translation,  which  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  had  put  within  their  reach. 

On  the  27th  April,  1902,  a  Society  was  formed, 
called  La  Pia  Societd  di  San  Girolamo  per  la  dif- 
fusione  de9  Santi  Vangeli  (The  Pious  Society  of 
St.  Jerome  for  the  spread  of  the  Holy  Gospels). 
This  Society,  which  took  the  name  of  the  great 
author  of  the  Vulgate,  prepared  and  widely  dis- 
tributed a  new  translation  of  the  four  Gospels  and 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  The  translation,  in  an 
easy  and  popular  style,  was  the  work  of  the  Eev. 
Professor  Giuseppe  Clementi;  the  notes,  concise, 
reverent,  and  without  polemical  intention,  were  by 
Padre  Giovanni  Genocchi  of  the  Sacred  Heart ;  the 
preface,  clear  and  eloquent,  which  set  forth  with 
great  moderation  and  exactness  the  Protestant 
principles  relating  to  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  in  which,  perhaps  for  the  first  time 
since  the  Eeformation,  Protestants  were  called 
"  our  separated  brethren/ '  was  by  Padre  Gio- 
vanni Semeria,  a  Barnabite;  the  indexes,  five  in 
number,  were  by  Padre  Giuseppe  Valdambrini. 
This  nice  little  volume,  printed  at  the  Vatican  press 


132     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

and  adorned  with  six  engravings,  contained,  im- 
mediately after  the  preface,  the  beautiful  pas- 
sage out  of  The  Imitation  of  Christ  referring 
to  the  spirit  in  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  should 
be  read,28  and  added  some  reminders  and  instruc- 
tions regarding  the  reverent  perusal  of  the  Holy 
Gospel 

It  seemed  as  if  the  Society  could  not  have  com- 
menced its  work  under  better  auspices.  More  than 
two  hundred  bishops  signified  their  approval  of 
it,  and  many  promised  their  assistance.  Leo  XIII 
granted  an  Indulgence  of  three  hundred  days  to 
the  faithful  who  read  the  Gospel  for  at  least  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  a  day,  and  plenary  Indulgence 
once  a  month,  on  a  day  to  be  selected,  to  those 
who,  for  the  space  of  one  month,  had  dedicated  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  daily  to  this  reading.  Later 
on,  Pius  X29  granted  plenary  Indulgence  on  the 
feast  day  of  St.  Jerome  30  to  all  those  who  in  any 
way  whatever  belonged  to  the  Pious  Society. 
After  three  years  of  activity  the  Society  had  cir- 
culated 300,000  copies  of  the  Gospels  in  popular 
editions,  first  at  20  centimes  and  then  at  25  per 
copy;  and  to  facilitate  the  circulation  still  more, 
it  published  the  Gospels  of  St.  Matthew  and  of  St. 

28  Book  I,  Chap.  V.  M  August  28th,   19C3. 

80  30th  September. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    133 

Luke  singly,  at  5  centimes  the  copy.  Moreover, 
to  render  the  inspired  writings  more  useful  to  the 
pious  reader,  it  underlined  many  of  the  passages 
which  place  in  high  relief  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines and  moral  principles  of  Christianity.  In 
1907  the  880th  thousand  of  these  books  was  issued 
from  the  Vatican  printing  press,  and  with  the 
100th  stereotyped  edition  in  1908,  the  number 
cannot  have  fallen  short  of  a  million. 

It  must  not  be  concluded,  however,  that  every- 
thing went  smoothly.  The  little  volume,  in  its  gen- 
eral aspect,  with  its  index  of  passages  from  the  Old 
Testament  quoted  in  the  New;  with  its  little  Con- 
cordance and  synoptic  tables,  its  underlined  verses, 
its  illustrations,  and  its  price,  savoured  too  much 
of  Protestantism  not  to  be  unpalatable  to  some. 
The  usual  atrabilious  press  fell  upon  it,  and  began 
to  denounce  the  Society  of  St.  Jerome  as  one  whose 
object  was  "  a  new  and  suspicious  kind  of  propa- 
ganda.'?  There  is  nothing  more  interesting,  or 
rather  nothing  more  contemptible  and  more  sad  to 
witness,  than  what  went  on  behind  the  scenes  in 
the  Society  of  St.  Jerome.  There,  in  the  back- 
ground, the  iniquitous  conspiracy  was  woven  by 
the  eternal  enemies  of  Truth,  which  was  to  ex- 
tinguish a  Society  begun  so  auspiciously  and  with 
such  promise  of  a  glorious  future.     It  was  not 


134     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

enough  that  the  unfortunate  Society  should  be 
presided  over  by  a  cardinal,  nor  that  its  meetings 
should  be  held  in  the  Vatican;  the  Curia,  as  soon 
as  it  perceived  that  the  fortunes  of  the  Society 
were  going  to  be  very  different  from  what  it  had 
expected,  became  diffident  and  nervous,  and  soon 
found  a  way  of  ridding  itself  of  an  institution 
whose  birth  it  had  blessed,  but  which  had  been  so 
ill-advised  as  to  disturb  its  placid  slumbers;  and 
this,  you  may  be  sure,  was  done  without  com- 
promising its  own  authority,  or  the  signatures  of 
Lepidi  and  Ceppetelli,  who  had  given  their  '  '  im- 
primatur.' '  It  began  by  amending,  touching  up, 
correcting,  and  lopping  in  its  own  way  all  the 
work  the  Society  of  St.  Jerome  had  done.  Later 
on,  and  little  by  little,  some  of  the  notes  disap- 
peared, some  were  mutilated,  and  others  were 
added  to,  so  that  they  might  mean  what  they  had 
not  been  intended  to  mean.  The  admirable  phrase 
"  our  separated  Protestant  brethren  "  so  Chris- 
tian in  spirit,  which  aroused  so  much  enthusiasm, 
and  at  the  same  time  gave  the  good  Padre  Semeria 
no  little  trouble,  was  cancelled.  Every  allusion 
which  the  annotator  had  made  to  the  Greek  text 
was  ruthlessly  expunged,  and  every  breath  of 
criticism  or  of  independent  opinion  that  appeared 
in  the  notes,  was  suffocated.    Finally,  in  the  last 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     135 

edition  of  the  book,  a  little  "  Manual  of  Prayers  " 
was  added,  containing  the  Mysteries  of  the  Holy 
Rosary,  the  Litanies  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  sev- 
eral invocations  to  Mary  and  to  St.  Joseph,  and  a 
large  number  of  ejaculatory  prayers,  intended  as 
an  antidote  to  eternal  perdition,  for  those  who, 
peradventure,  might  have  been  poisoned  by  read- 
ing the  pure  and  simple  Gospel!  With  its  in- 
quisitorial censure  the  Curia  sought  to  render  the 
work  of  the  Society  of  St.  Jerome  innocuous,  and 
at  the  same  time  dug  its  grave  and  kept  it  ready. 
The  end  of  the  sad  story  can  be  told  to-day  in 
a  few  words.  The  Society  of  St.  Jerome  has  not 
been  dissolved  by  any  express  official  act,  but  it 
has,  nevertheless,  been  dissolved.  The  Curia  has 
not  killed  the  Society  directly,  but  has  so  man- 
aged that  it  should  expire  gradually,  slowly,  and 
of  itself.  The  noble  members  of  the  "  Pious  So- 
ciety "  have  dreamt  a  beautiful  dream,  and  noth- 
ing more ;  they  have  learned  by  painful  experience 
that  the  Curia  fears  a  reawakening  of  the  people's 
conscience,  and,  therefore,  does  not  desire  the  free 
circulation  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

#  # 

Has  the  history  of  the  Bible  in  Italy  been  closed 
with  this  gloomy  chapter? 


136     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

No,  God  be  thanked,  another  chapter  has  just 
opened;  a  chapter  as  full  of  light  and  hope  as 
that  of  the  Society  of  St.  Jerome  was  full  of 
shadows  and  disappointment. 

The  ideal  vanished  with  the  Society  of  St. 
Jerome,  has  been  revived  in  another  Society  under 
the  name  of  Fides  et  Amor  (Faith  and  Love),  and 
founded  by  laymen  actuated  by  a  Catholic  spirit, 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word;  that  is:  non- 
sectarian  and  truly  universal. 

The  Fides  et  Amor  was  founded  on  the  same 
day,  but  seven  years  after  the  Society  of  St. 
Jerome;  that  is:  on  the  27th  April,  1909.  Its 
aims  and  organisation  may  be  gleaned  from  the 
following  extracts  from  its  Statute : 

(1)  A  Society  under  the  name  of  Fides  et  Amor 
has  been  constituted  in  Italy.  It  is  independent 
of  any  church  or  religious  associations,  and  has 
its  seat  in  Eome. 

(2)  The  Society  has  not  as  its  object  the  special 
interests  of  any  particular  church,  but  aims  at 
the  triumph  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  through  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  Italy  and  in  coun- 
tries where  the  Italian  language  is  spoken. 

(3)  The  Society  welcomes,  as  members,  all 
Christian  believers  without  distinction  of  names. 

By  the  efforts  of  this  Society  the  religious  lit- 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    137 

erature  of  Italy  has  already  been  enriched  by  an 
important  addition :  the  translation  of  the  whole  of 
the  New  Testament.  This  translation  is  from  the 
original  Greek,  and  it  marks,  therefore,  an  impor- 
tant advance  over  that  of  Monsignor  Martini,  who, 
as  we  know,  translated  from  the  Vulgate.  It  is  in 
modern,  living  language,  and  is,  therefore,  far 
ahead  of  that  of  Giovanni  Diodati,  whose  transla- 
tion dates  from  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  translation  is  enriched  with  notes, 
which  are  neither  polemic,  nor  parenetic,  nor  one- 
sided, but  simply  explanatory  of  the  text;  and 
on  this  account  it  may  be  said  to  have  taken  up 
and  completed  the  work  left  unfinished  by  the 
"  Pious  Society  of  St.  Jerome,' '  but  in  a  wider  and 
more  independent  spirit  than  that  which  was  per- 
mitted to  the  Pious  Society.  Each  of  the  twenty- 
seven  books  of  the  New  Testament  is  preceded 
by  a  concise  preface,  rich  with  information  relat- 
ing to  the  authors,  authenticity,  date,  and  place 
where  each  was  written,  and  its  first  readers.  The 
volume,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Italy,  is  nicely  bound 
in  cloth,  has  two  good  maps,  is  printed  in  clear 
type  on  good  paper,  and  only  costs  lire  1.20  in 
Italy,  and  lire  1.50  abroad. 

One  of  the  appeals  of  the  Society  closes  with 
these  words:  "  This  is  a  solemn  hour.    A  wave  of 


138     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

the  Eternal  Spirit  is  passing  over  Italy.  Minds 
are  opened,  consciences  feel  new  religious  and 
moral  needs,  which  Science  is  unable  to  satisfy. 
Only  the  Christ  of  God  has  the  power  to  satisfy 
them;  and  our  aim,  in  issuing  this  New  Testament, 
is  solely  to  put  the  Italian  conscience  into  immedi- 
ate contact  with  '  Christ  Jesus,  who  of  God  is 
made  unto  us  wisdom  and  righteousness  and  sanc- 
tification  and  redemption.'  " 

The  possibility  of  a  society  such  as  this,  is  not 
a  Utopian  idea,  but  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  reality. 
This  has  already  been  proved  by  facts.  The 
Fides  et  Amor  includes  already  Roman  Catholic 
priests  and  laymen,  members  of  the  Greek  Or- 
thodox Church,  and  Protestants.  The  volume 
already  referred  to  has  been  cordially  accepted 
by  the  best-known  literary  men  of  Italy;  the 
liberal  press  has  reviewed  it  very  favourably, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  thunderbolts  hurled  against  it 
by  the  Jesuitical  press,  it  is  courageously  and 
serenely  making  its  way  throughout  the  cities  and 
the  countries  of  Italy. 

That  the  times  are  not  yet  altogether  ripe  for 
a  society  such  as  the  Fides  et  Amor,  is  un- 
fortunately too  well  proved  by  the  5th  article  of 
the  Statute,  which  runs  thus:  "If  necessary, 
names  of  members  are  recorded  in  cipher,  and  the 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    139 

roll  of  membership  is  kept  only  by  the  President." 
In  other  words :  men  belonging  to  the  three  great 
branches  of  Christianity  are  not  allowed  to  study 
together,  to  think  and  to  believe  in  full  communion 
of  spirit  and  to  love  each  other  fraternally,  except 
in  secret.  To  do  so  openly,  especially  in  the  case 
of  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Greek 
Orthodox  Churches,  is  to  run  the  risk  of  censure 
from  the  ecclesiastical  authority  on  which  they 
depend.  This  is  sad  indeed,  but  the  fact  that  a 
Society  such  as  the  Fides  et  Amor  is  possible 
and  does  exist,  is  more  than  a  symptom,  it  is  a 
guarantee  that  the  past  is  gone  forever,  and  is 
also  an  assurance  that  the  light  of  Truth  which 
is  already  spreading  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains 
will  not  be  long  in  penetrating  the  whole  valley 
to  gladden  it  with  its  rays  full  of  brightness  and 
life. 


The  time  has  come  to  furl  our  sails. 

In  these  our  times  when  so  many  in  Italy  take 
pleasure  in  extolling  everything  that  is  foreign 
to  the  detriment  of  all  that  is  genuinely  national, 
it  is  dear  to  me,  in  concluding,  to  draw  attention  to 
one  of  Italy's  glories  which  she  herself  has  com- 
pletely forgotten. 


140     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

While  biblical  studies  were  widely  and  so  ear- 
nestly cultivated  in  countries  beyond  the  Alps 
during  the  sixteenth  century  as  to  lead  up  to  the 
Protestant  Keformation,  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  these  studies  were  ignored  and  neglected  in 
Italy  at  or  before  that  period. 

It  is  well  known  that  after  the  invention  of 
printing,31  Italy,  about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
and  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  even 
in  the  printing  of  the  sacred  text  took  the  lead, 
although  later  on  she  was  surpassed.  Nothing 
would  be  more  instructive  than  to  take  up  the 
early  history  of  the  art  of  printing  in  Italy,  to 
watch  its  progress,  to  learn  of  its  early  vicissi- 
tudes in  the  heart  of  the  Italian  Jewish  colonies, 
and  to  trace  the  connection  between  the  printing 
of  the  Hebrew  sacred  text  and  the  development  of 
the  study  of  the  Semitic  languages.  It  would  be 
most  interesting  to  visit,  in  spirit,  convent  cells 
and  the  sumptuous  palaces  of  bishops  and  other 
high  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  and  thus  surprise 
friars,  bishops,  and  cardinals  absorbed  in  the 
study  of  God's  Word  at  the  time  when  the  pagan 
Pope  Leo  X  was  enjoying  the  obscenities  of 
Machiavelli  's  Mandragora,  and  his  secretary 
Cardinal  Bembo,  in  writing  to  a  colleague,  Sado- 

* 1436. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy    141 

leto,  said:  "  Do  not  read  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul, 
lest  his  barbarous  style  should  corrupt  your  taste; 
leave  those  trifles  (ineptice)  alone;  they  are  not 
worthy  the  attention  of  a  serious  scholar. ' ' 

But  I  must  not  allow  myself  to  be  carried  away 
by  these  researches,  however  fascinating  and 
important  they  may  be.  I  must  limit  myself  only 
to  a  few  but  momentous  facts. 

The  first  printed  Hebrew  Psalter  was  issued 
in  Italy  in  1477;  the  first  printed  Hebrew  Bible 
appeared  at  Soncino,  a  town  of  the  Cremona 
Province,  in  1488 ;  and  we  know  that  the  Hebrew 
text  of  the  Old  Testament  which  Martin  Luther 
had  under  his  eyes  when  preparing  his  classical 
translation,  was  the  third  edition  of  a  text  issued 
in  Brescia.  In  1518  Daniele  Bomberg  had  already 
published,  in  Venice,  editions  of  the  Bible  and 
Eabbinical  Commentaries  which  form  a  glorious 
chapter  in  the  history  of  Italian  printing ;  and  by 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  Italy  took  pride  in  many  Ori- 
entalists of  no  little  renown.  The  first  edition  of 
the  Septuagint,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  Greek  version 
of  the  Old  Testament,  was  incorporated  in  the 
famous  Complutensis  32  of  Alcala;  but  when  the 

■  Complutum  is  the  Latin  name  for  AlcaU  in  Spain  (Province 
of  Madrid).     As  the  monumental  work  to  which  I  am  alluding 


142     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Complutensis,  although  already  printed,  had  not 
yet  been  published,  Andreas  Asolanus,  father-in- 
law  of  the  elder  Aldus  Manutius,  issued  from  the 
Venetian  Aldine  press  a  complete  edition  of  the 
Greek  Bible,  in  February,  1518.33  In  1527  Santi 
Pagnini  of  Lucca  published  a  Latin  translation  of 
the  Bible,  after  having  spent  twenty-five  years  of 
his  life  in  preparing  it;  but  already  in  1560  the 
nuns  of  Ripoli,  near  Florence,  had  issued  a  beau- 
tiful printed  edition  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John; 
and  in  1471  the  anonymous  translation  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  which  has  already  been  referred 
to,  appeared,  and  ran  through  nine  editions  in  the 
fifteenth  century  and  twelve  in  the  sixteenth.  One 
of  these  editions,  that  of  1490,  was  illustrated  by 
Bellini  and  Sandro  Botticelli.  In  1542  Isidoro 
Clario,  Abbot  of  Monte  Cassino,  published  the 
Vulgate,  following  the  best  Manuscripts,  and  en- 
riched it  with  a  preface  and  notes ;  a  work,  which 
had  the  honour  of  ecclesiastical  censure  and  mu- 
tilation, because  the  worthy  Abbot  had  committed 
two  great  sins:  he  had  dared  to  correct  the  Vul- 

was  printed  there  (1502-1517,  under  the  auspices  of  Cardinal 
Ximenes  de  Cisneros),  it  was  called  the  Complutensis ;  that  is  to 
say:  printed  at  Alcala. 

88  The  Complutensis,  although  prepared  before,  had  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Pope  only  in  1520,  and  was  only  issued  four  years 
after    (1522)    that  Aldine  edition. 


Dramatic  History  of  the  Bible  in  Italy     143 

gate  and  had  openly  admitted  having  done  so,  and 
had  also  embodied  in  his  notes  extracts  from 
Protestant  commentaries.  In  those  days,  as  Tira- 
boschi  remarks,  "  to  quote  from  a  Protestant  work 
was  a  crime  worthy  of  capital  punishment.' '  Not 
so  now,  when  Eoman  Catholics  freely  and  with  im- 
punity plunder  the  works  of  Protestant  authors. 

What  I  have  related,  corroborated  by  the  fact 
of  the  existence  and  circulation  of  several  other 
Italian  translations  of  the  Scriptures  such  as  those 
of  Antonio  Brucioli,34  Santi  Marmocchino,35  Fra 
Zaccaria,36  Massimo  Teofilo,37  Filippo  Eustici,38 
shows  us  clearly  that  in  the  century  of  the  Eefor- 
mation  the  Book  of  Books,  the  light  of  the  soul 
and  the  message  of  spiritual  liberty,  was  freely 
circulated  also  in  Italy,  and  was  loved  not  only  in 
convents  and  in  the  palaces  of  bishops  and  car- 
dinals, but  also  by  the  nobility  and  people  of  all 
classes. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter how  it  was  that  so  many  bright  hopes  which 
sprang  in  Italy  in  that  glorious  age,  were  followed 
by  so  much  tragic,  bitter,  and  disheartening  dis- 
appointment. Here,  I  will  only  say  that  the  angel 
of   liberty   has    already   removed   the   principal 

34  The  New  Testament:  Venice,  1530.    The  whole  Bible  in  1532. 
85 1538.  861542.  "1551.  *  1562. 


144  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
causes  that  have  hindered  the  Bible  from  bearing 
in  Italy  the  fruit  that  it  has  brought  forth  in  other 
lands ;  so  that  it  is  quite  reasonable  to  predict  that 
the  present  revival  of  biblical  studies  and  pre- 
occupations which  cheer  all  true  lovers  of  the  wel- 
fare of  that  great  country,  will  no  longer  be 
threatened  with  destruction  by  the  storm  of  per- 
secution, but,  caressed  by  the  breeze  of  a  true 
renaissance  of  Christian  faith,  will  bring  to  ma- 
turity an  abundance  of  ' '  abiding  ' '  fruit. 

A  great  mission  is  entrusted  to  the  Bible  in 
Italy:  To  gather  together  all  those  who  are 
languishing  for  want  of  the  Divine;  to  enamour 
the  people  of  Italy  of  noble  and  holy  ideals,  and 
to  point  out  to  that  young  but  strong  and  glorious 
nation  the  way  that  leads  to  that  moral  greatness, 
without  which  any  other  kind  of  greatness  is  al- 
most altogether  unavailing  and  worthless. 


IV 
THE  ISRAEL  OP  THE  ALPS 


IV 

THE  ISRAEL  OF  THE  ALPS 

A  SPECIAL  chapter  is  due  to  the  "  Israel  of 
the  Alps,"  as  the  Waldenses  have  rightly 
been  called.  From  the  point  of  view  of  his- 
tory, they  are  the  oldest  Protestant  body  in  Chris- 
tendom ;  and  geographically,  with  regard  to  their 
position  in  the  classic  land  of  Papacy,  they  are  in 
the  van  of  European  Protestantism. 


What  about  the  origin  of  this  people?  John 
Milton  describes  the  Waldenses  as  having  kept 
God's 

"...  truth  so  pure  of  old 
When  all  our  fathers  worshipt  stocks  and  stones"; 

and,  as  Professor  E.  Comba  has  shown,  that  is  the 
legend  which  has  arisen  to  make  up  for  the  silence 
of  history,  and  which  has  enamoured  poets.  To- 
day history  speaks,  legends  vanish,  and  the  calm 
and  serene  language  of  facts  takes  the  place  of 
poetry. 

In  the  first  chapter  we  already  noted  that  at  a 

147 


148     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

very  early  date,  especially  in  the  North  of  Italy, 
energetic  protests  against  the  superstitions  and 
the  thirst  for  earthly  power  of  Kome  were  not 
wanting;  and  we  have  certainly  not  forgotten  the 
names  of  Jovinian,  Vigilantius,  Claudius  of  Turin, 
and  Arnold  of  Brescia. 

Soon  after  the  martyrdom  of  Arnold,  a  man 
arose,  whom  Providence  had  called  to  gather  to- 
gether all  the  dispersed  remnants  of  the  different 
protests  which  had  preceded  him,  and  which 
Papacy  had  done  its  best  to  crush  pitilessly.  The 
name  of  that  man  was  Peter  Valdo.1  Where  he 
came  from,  nobody  exactly  knows ;  we  know,  how- 
ever, that  he  was  born  about  1140,  that  he 
was  a  merchant,  that  he  settled  down  in  Lyons, 
that  he  was  married,  had  two  daughters,  and  that 
he  became  well-to-do. 

On  a  warm  summer  day  in  1173  he  was  con- 
versing on  the  threshold  of  his  house  with  some 
friends,  when  one  of  them  suddenly  fell  down 
dead  at  his  feet.  Valdo,  as  soon  as  he  was  alone, 
put  himself  this  question  in  his  grief:  "  If  I,  in- 
stead of  him,  had  been  so  suddenly  called  before 
my  Supreme  Judge,  what  would  have  become  of 
me?n    Some  time  afterwards,  whilst  the  impres- 

xThe  best  authorities  on  this  subject  are:  E.  Comba:  Histoire 
des  Vaudois.  Storia  dei  Valdesi.  Jean  Jalla:  Histoire  des 
Vaudois  des  Alpes. 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  149 

sion  of  that  scene  was  still  fresh  in  his  mind,  he 
stopped  one  Sunday  to  listen  to  a  minstrel  who 
was  singing  the  ballad  of  St.  Alexis  to  a  crowd 
which  had  gathered.  This  Roman  noble,  said  the 
ballad,  abandoned  his  spouse,  his  relations,  his 
position  and  riches  on  his  wedding  day,  in  order 
to  go  as  a  pilgrim  to  the  Holy  Land.  When  he 
came  back  nobody  knew  who  he  was,  and  so  he 
concealed  his  name;  but  when  he  died  he  was 
recognised  by  a  mark  on  his  body,  just  in  time 
for  his  remains  to  be  honoured  by  a  solemn 
funeral.  His  relations  comforted  themselves  with 
the  thought  that  he  was  blessed  and  glorified  in 
heaven. 

This  beautiful  example  of  a  man  giving  up  a 
brilliant  position  to  please  his  God  moved  the 
worthy  merchant  of  Lyons,  and  he  was  led  to 
ask  a  divine :  ' '  Which  is  the  safest  way  to 
reach  perfection  f  ' '  The  divine,  following  Eoman 
casuistry,  pointed  out  to  him  several  ways.  At 
last,  as  Valdo  insisted  on  knowing  the  safest  of 
all,  the  passage  was  quoted  to  him:  "  If  thou  wilt 
be  perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to 
the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven ; 
and  come  and  follow  Me."2  The  direction  was 
clear,  and  Valdo  followed  it.    He  gave  back  every- 

2  Matthew  xix.  21. 


150     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

thing  that  he  had  gained  unjustly ;  what  remained 
he  divided  into  two  parts:  houses  and  estates 
formed  one  part;  commercial  goods  and  ready 
money,  the  other.  His  wife,  whom  he  left  free  to 
choose,  chose  houses  and  grounds.  Out  of  the  other 
part  he  provided  for  his  daughters,  whom  he  sent 
to  be  educated  in  the  famous  Abbey  of  Fontevrault 
in  Poitou,  and  gave  the  rest  to  the  poor.  A  famine 
was  raging  in  Lyons;  Valdo  ordered  a  regular 
distribution  of  food  to  be  made  three  times  a 
week;  and  while  providing  for  the  bodies,  he 
gave  to  the  souls  the  "  bread  of  life  "  and 
preached  them  the  Gospel  through  which  he  him- 
self had  found  peace.  Helped  by  two  priests, 
Stephen  d'Ansa,  who  translated  from  the  Latin, 
and  Bernard  Ydros,  who  copied,  he  was  able  to 
possess  several  copies  of  not  a  few  of  the  books 
of  the  Bible  in  the  vulgar  tongue.  These  books 
he  read  and  distributed  to  the  people,  always  ac- 
companying the  distribution  with  a  word  of  ex- 
hortation. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  Waldensian  mis- 
sion, and  it  was  started  by  a  layman.  Opposition 
from  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  could  not  fail 
to  manifest  itself;  Archbishop  Guichard  of  Lyons 
forbade  his  preaching,  asserting  that  only  church- 
men had  the  right  to  do  so.     Peter  Valdo  an- 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  151 

swered:  uWe  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than 
men."3  And  being  threatened  with  expulsion 
from  the  Church,  he  appealed  to  the  Third  Lateran 
Council,  which  had  already  been  convoked  in  1179. 
The  Council  denied  to  the  Waldenses — that  is  to 
say,  to  Valdo  and  his  disciples  whom  he  used  to 
send  two  by  two  into  countries  and  towns  to  evan- 
gelise— the  right  to  preach  without  the  approval  of 
the  clergy  in  every  place  where  they  stopped. 
This  decided  the  Waldenses  to  separate  from 
Eome.  As  they  continued  preaching  notwith- 
standing the  veto  of  the  Council,  the  new  Arch- 
bishop of  Lyons,  Jean  de  Belle-mains,  in  1182,  ex- 
pelled them  from  his  diocese.  The  following  year, 
the  Council  of  Verona  excommunicated  them  to- 
gether with  other  groups  of  Christians  who  had 
severed  themselves  from  Rome. 

It  will  now  be  worth  while  to  stop  a  moment  to 
investigate  how  the  Waldenses,  at  this  point  of 
their  history,  stood  as  far  as  their  religious  con- 
victions and  ecclesiastical  organisation  were  con- 
cerned. 

People  called  them  Valdesii,  Valdesi,  Vaudes, 
after  the  name  of  their  leader  Valdo ;  they  were 
also  called  the  "  Poor  of  Lyons,' '  because  they  felt 
bound  to  give  up  all  riches  and  to  live  in  poverty, 

8  Acts  v.  29. 


152     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

according  to  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel,  as  was 
the  case  in  all  movements  of  reaction  against 
Kome  between  the  twelfth  and  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury. They  were  pledged  to  the  three  monastic 
vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience.  They 
refused  to  accept  Purgatory,  or  the  gross  prac- 
tices that  Eomanism  had  inherited  from  pagan- 
ism, and  the  worship  of  the  saints  and  the  Virgin, 
although  they  regarded  the  mother  of  Jesus  with 
exceptional  respect.  They  retained  confession, 
but  the  formula  of  absolution  was  not :  "  I  absolve 
thee,"  but  "  May  God  absolve  thee  from  all  sin." 
The  penance  they  imposed  was  fasting  and  the 
repetition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Lying  was  pro- 
hibited in  all  forms  and  under  all  pretexts.  They 
held  capital  punishment  to  be  contrary  to  the 
-  Scripture,  and  refused  to  take  an  oath. 

The  Waldensian  community,  which  assumed  the 
name  of  "  Brotherhood,"  was  composed  of  dea- 
cons, presbyters,  and  bishops.  Very  probably, 
however,  these  two  last  offices  were  one  and  the 
same;  at  any  rate,  the  office  of  bishops  ceased  to 
exist.  They  had  a  yearly  Capitulum,  which  later 
on  became  a  Synod;  it  elected  a  Rector  and  a 
Coadjutor.  All  office-bearers  in  the  church  were, 
therefore,  chosen  by  election.  The  presbyters 
were  usually  called  Barbi,  a  name  which  means 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  153 

Uncle,  and  even  nowadays  is  used  in  the  Walden- 
sian  valleys  and  in  other  parts  of  Italy  as  a  term 
of  respect  to  persons  not  belonging  to  the  same 
family  circle.  Where  they  were  sufficiently  numer- 
ous, they  maintained  a  Home,  called  Hospice,  kept 
by  a  Rector  and  by  some  aged  women.  There 
they  entertained  the  travelling  brethren  and  wor- 
shipped in  secret.  The  order  of  their  worship 
was  very  simple.  They  read  or  recited  the  Word 
of  God,  which  they  knew  for  the  greater  part  by 
heart,  and  expounded  it  in  a  practical  and  popu- 
lar manner.  They  sang  only  in  private,  so  as  not 
to  be  heard  and  discovered  by  the  enemies  to  their 
faith,  and  they  never  administered  the  sacra- 
ments ;  when  these  were  needed,  they  had  recourse 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  priests. 

Such  were  the  general  lines  of  the  doctrine  and 
organisation  of  the  Waldensian  church  in  the 
Middle  Ages. 

After  the  banishment  of  the  Waldenses  from 
Lyons  nothing  certain  is  known  about  Valdo ;  but 
the  Waldenses,  after  their  expulsion,  followed  the 
way  which  had  been  prepared  by  the  Catharists, 
called  Albigenses  in  the  South  of  France,  and 
Patarenes  in  Italy.4  We  find  them  united  with 
the  Catharists  in  almost  every  country  in  Europe : 

4  See  Chap.  I,  Note  60. 


154     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Provence,  Languedoc,  Spain,  England,  Switzer- 
land, Alsace-Lorraine,  Brandenburg,  Pomerania, 
Saxony,  Bohemia,  Austria,  Italy,  Greece,  and  Con- 
stantinople. But  in  Italy  their  union  was  even 
closer  with  the  movement  known  as  the  "  Umili- 
ati  "  (the  Humble)  or  "  Poor  of  Lombardy," 
which  was  contemporary  with  and  had  the  same 
objects  as  theirs.  Being  thus  united,  they  enjoyed 
for  a  certain  period  the  protection  of  the  Milanese 
authorities,  and  were  enabled  to  open  a  public 
school  in  Milan.  On  account  of  dissensions  which 
occurred,  the  Waldenses  who  settled  in  Lombardy 
separated  from  those  beyond  the  Alps,  in  1205. 
In  a  Conference  held  at  Bergamo  in  1218  the  two 
Waldensian  branches  tried  to  come  to  an  agree- 
ment, but  this  was  not  possible.  The  Waldenses 
beyond  the  Alps  and  those  of  Lombardy,  there- 
fore, continued  their  missionary  work  independ- 
ently, not,  however,  without  keeping  in  brotherly 
touch  with  each  other.  And  though  we  shall  not 
entirely  lose  sight  of  the  Waldensian  branch  be- 
yond the  Alps,  we  are  here  obliged  to  limit  our- 
selves to  following  the  Lombard  branch,  which 
had  settled  eventually  in  the  Cottian  Alps. 

What  induced  them  to  go  there? 

Several  things:  the  configuration  of  the  coun- 
try, well  adapted  as  a  natural  fortress  of  religious 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  155 

freedom;  the  greenness  and  fertility  of  the  Italian 
side  of  the  Alps,  so  different  to  the  arid  and  rocky 
conditions  on  the  other  side;  lastly,  the  good- 
nature of  the  inhabitants;  simple  folk,  imbued 
with  genuine  Christian  piety,  born  and  nurtured 
in  the  atmosphere  of  the  followers  of  Claudius  of 
Turin  and,  perhaps,  also  of  Pierre  de  Bruys,5  who 
very  likely  had  sought  and  found  their  refuge 
there,  when  harassed  by  persecution. 

The  valleys  of  the  Cottian  Alps,  where  the  Wal- 
denses  found  refuge,  are  about  one  hour  and  three- 
quarters  distant,  by  rail,  from  Turin.  The  valleys 
are  numerous,  as  any  one  who  knows  an  Alpine 
district  can  well  imagine ;  but  there  are  three  prin- 
cipal ones— the  valley  of  the  Pellice,  the  valley  of 
Angrogna,  and  the  valley  of  San  Martino.— In 
those  valleys,  round  the  little  huts  hidden  amidst 
rocks  and  chestnut-trees,  the  sublime  memories  of 
the  Waldensian  church  still  clung. 

Let  us,  in  imagination,  go  through  these  three 
valleys,  just  a  hurried  visit,  but  sufficient  to  enable 

6  The  legend  says  that  St.  Paul  and  St.  James  on  their  way 
to  Spain  passed  through  those  Alpine  valleys,  where  they  planted 
the  Christian  faith.  Claudius  of  Turin  (d.  839).  See  Chap. 
I,  Note  55.  Piero  di  Bruys  for  twenty  years  (1104-1124)  fought 
against  the  errors  of  Rome,  more  especially  in  Dauphiny,  Pro- 
vence, and  Languedoc.  He  was  at  times  too  violent;  for  instance, 
when  he  caused  all  crucifixes  to  be  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  pub- 
lic squares.  He  was  burnt  at  Saint-Gilles,  Gard,  by  a  furious 
mob  at  the  instigation  of  the  priests   (1130). 


156     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

one  to  obtain  an  idea  of  the  chief  places  of  in- 
terest. 

The  railway  line  from  Turin  passes  through 
Pinerolo,  climbs  towards  the  Alps,  and  ends  at 
Torre  Pellice.  Here  you  look  up  at  the  peak  be- 
fore you  which  rises  from  the  shoulder  of  the 
Vandalino,  and  you  see  Castelluzzo ;  opposite  and 
lower  down  the  slope,  are  the  ruins  of  a  fort. 
Both  of  these  places  have  holy  and  touching  mem- 
ories of  heroism  and  tears.  Here,  on  the  plain, 
between  the  mountain  and  the  slope,  is  the  fruit 
of  that  heroism  and  of  those  tears — the  modern 
Waldensian  church.  Further  on,  ascending  the 
course  of  the  torrent  Pellice  which  gives  its  name 
to  the  valley,  you  reach  Villar;  and  at  the  end  of 
the  valley  is  Bobbio. 

To  enter  the  second  valley,  that  of  Angrogna, 
a  return  to  Torre  Pellice  is  necessary;  and  as  you 
go  along  the  torrent,  look  up;  there,  behind  the 
mountain  opposite,  is  Bora,  the  birthplace  of 
Janavel,  the  Gideon  of  the  Israel  of  the  Alps,  the 
man  of  iron  temper  sanctified  by  God's  grace. 
You  enter  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  and  ascend  the 
torrent  which  gives  its  name  to  the  valley.  A 
few  hours  will  suffice  to  explore  it  all;  but  what 
hours !  Every  spot  here  has  its  story,  every  rock 
has  a  stain  of  blood,  upon  every  stone  is  inscribed 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  157 

the  name  of  a  hero.  Here  is  the  oldest  church 
in  the  valleys;  here  are  the  Waldensian  Cata- 
combs ;  here  is  Cianf oran,  which  we  shall  have  to 
speak  of  further  on;  here  is  Pra  del  Torno,  with 
its  holy  memories  of  the  "  Barbi,"  which  in  them- 
selves are  a  poem. 

To  reach  the  third  valley,  those  who  do  not  care 
to  cross  the  mountains,  must  return  to  Pinerolo, 
and  take  the  tramway  to  Perosa.  At  Perosa  we 
leave  the  road  leading  to  Fenestrelle  on  the  right, 
and  enter,  on  the  left,  the  valley  of  St.  Martino. 
This  valley  is  traversed  by  three  streams,  which 
pour  their  waters  into  the  Chisone  at  Perrero, 
and  go  by  the  names  of  the  Germanasca  of  Prali, 
of  Salza,  and  of  Massello.  Here  also  historical 
memories  abound,  which  centre  in  two  heroic 
names :  the  Balsiglia  and  Prali ;  two  places  which 
we  shall  shortly  have  to  come  back  to. 

During  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries, 
the  "Waldenses  in  their  Alpine  refuge  were  con- 
tinually molested  and  persecuted  by  the  princes  of 
Savoy  and  by  the  papal  inquisitors.  In  1393,  the 
Inquisition  burnt  alive  280  Waldenses  in  the  Dau- 
phiny  valleys.  On  Christmas  eve  of  1400  the  per- 
secutors crossed  the  mountains  that  divide  the 
valley  of  Susa  from  that  of  the  Chisone,  and  fell 
on  those  poor  mountaineers,  who,  completely  sur- 


158     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

prised,  fled  to  the  snowy  heights  of  the  Albergian, 
where  they  passed  the  whole  night  in  bitter  cold, 
while  their  aggressors  made  merry  in  the  homes 
they  had  abandoned.  At  dawn  many  of  the  eighty 
mothers  who  had  started  with  a  child  in  their 
arms,  were  pressing  to  their  bosoms  only  a  poor 
little  frozen  corpse. 

These  two  centuries,  during  which  the  Inquisi- 
tors never  ceased  to  shed  the  blood  of  and  squeeze 
money  from  the  wretched  Waldenses,  lead  us  to 
the  terrible  crusade  proclaimed  in  1487  by  the  in- 
famous Innocent  VIII,  which,  in  1488,  sowed  ter- 
ror, misery,  and  death  throughout  the  valleys  of 
the  Dauphiny.  Whilst,  however,  the  angel  of 
death  was  passing  through  the  valleys  beyond  the 
Alps,  the  Waldenses  on  the  Italian  side  were  ex- 
tending themselves  and  pitching  their  tents  in  the 
very  south  of  Italy,  where  they  founded  colonies,6 
of  which  the  most  important,  about  the  middle  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  were  those  in  Calabria, 
where  they  established  themselves  first  near  Mont- 
alto  not  far  from  Cosenza;  afterwards,  at  San 


6  About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  Waldenses  also 
founded  colonies  in  Provence.  In  the  first  years  of  the  sixteenth 
century  there  were  in  Provence  not  less  than  10,000  Waldensian  or 
Lutheran  homes,  where  23  Barbi,  at  least,  preached  the  Gospel. 
This  colony  was  exterminated  by  fire,  plunder,  and  torture  in 
1545. 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  159 

Sisto  and  La  Guardia.  The  Waldenses  in  these 
colonies  were  visited  regularly  by  the  pastors 
from  the  valleys,  and  were  not  only  persevering  in 
their  faith,  but  were  also  shining  lights  amidst 
the  darkness  of  the  country  they  inhabited.  One 
of  their  pastors  is  especially  recorded  in  history: 
Giovanni  Lodovico  Pascale,  who,  on  the  15th  Sep- 
tember, 1560,  died  at  the  stake  in  Rome,  in  Piazza 
di  Ponte  St.  Angelo.  A  year  later  the  Inquisitors 
of  Rome  had  suffocated  in  blood  those  flourishing 
colonies,  and  were  able  to  boast  of  having  extir- 
pated heresy  from  Calabria. 


But  let  us  not  anticipate  events;  another  im- 
portant fact  calls  our  attention  here :  that  of  the 
relation  between  the  Waldenses  and  the  Reforma- 
tion. 

First  of  all,  let  us  inquire :  What  about  the  be- 
lief and  the  organisation  of  this  people  on  the 
eve  of  the  Reformation? 

At  the  very  end  of  the  Angrogna  valley,  at  Pra 
del  Torno,  there  was  a  school  for  those  who  de- 
sired to  prepare  themselves  for  the  ministry. 
Those  who  frequented  it,  for  the  most  part,  were 
adults,  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  of  age. 
They  attended  the  school  during  three  or  four 


160     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

months  in  winter;  then,  when  the  snow  disap- 
peared, they  went  back  to  their  work  in  the  fields. 
The  "  curriculum  "  lasted  three  or  four  winters. 
In  the  school  they  studied  only  one  book:  the 
Bible,  which  they  learnt,  as  far  as  possible,  by 
heart,  and  copied  for  their  own  benefit  and  for 
that  of  the  people.  They  earned  their  daily  bread 
by  carrying  on  a  trade  or  a  profession.  Some 
of  them  practised  medicine;  others  were  pedlars. 
John  G.  Whittier,  the  American  poet,  who  felt  so 
deeply  the  sorrows  and  the  joys  of  his  country 
and  the  poetry  of  all  things  truly  human  and 
truly  beautiful,  was  attracted  by  the  ideal  image 
of  the  wandering  Waldensian  pedlar,  and  thus  de- 
scribed him  in  beautiful  verse,  full  of  exquisite 
harmony  and  Christian  sentiment: 

THE  VAUDOIS  TEACHER 

"  0  Lady  fair,  these  silks  of  mine  are  beautiful  and  rare, — 
The  richest  web  of  the  Indian  loom,  which  beauty's  queen  might 

wear; 
And  my  pearls  are  pure  as  thy  own  fair  neck,  with  whose  radiant 

light  they  vie; 
I    have   brought   them   with    nic    a   weary   way, — will   my  gentle 

lady  buy  ?  " 

The  lady  smiled  on  the  worn  old  man  through  the  dark  and 
clustering  curls 

\Vhich  veiled  her  brow,  as  she  bent  to  view  his  silks  and  glitter- 
ing pearls  j 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  161 

And  she  placed  their  price  in  the  old  man's  hand  and  lightly 

turned  away, 
But  she   paused   at  the   wanderer's  earnest   call, — "My   gentle 

lady,  stay! 


"  O  lady  fair,  I  have  yet  a  gem  which  a  purer  lustre  flings, 
Than  the  diamond  flash  of  the  jewelled  crown  on  the  lofty  brow 

of  kings; 
A  wonderful  pearl  of  exceeding  price,  whose  virtue  shall  not  decay, 
Whose  light  shall  be  as  a  spell  to  thee  and  a  blessing  on  thy 

way!  " 

The  lady  glanced  at  the  mirroring  steel  where  her  form  of  grace 

was  seen, 
Where   her   eye   shone   clear,   and   her   dark   locks   waved   their 

clasping  pearls  between; 
"  Bring  forth  thy  pearl  of  exceeding  worth,  thou  traveller  grey 

and  old, 
And  name  the  price  of  thy  precious  gem,  and  my  page  shall  count 

thy  gold." 

The   cloud  went  off  from  the   pilgrim's  brow,   as  a   small   and 

meagre  book, 
Unchased  with  gold  or  gems  of  cost,  from  his  folding  robe  he 

took! 
"  Here,  lady  fair,  is  the  pearl  of  price,  may  it  prove  as  such  to 

thee! 
Nay,  keep  thy  gold — I  ask  it  not,  for  the  Word  of  God  is  free !  " 

The  hoary  traveller  went  his  way,  but  the  gift  he  left  behind 
Hath  had  its  pure  and  perfect  work  on  that  highborn  maiden's 

mind, 
And  she  hath  turned  from  the  pride  of  sin  to  the  lowliness  of 

truth, 
And  given  her  human  heart  to  God  in  its  beautiful  hour  of  youth! 

And  she  hath  left  the  grey  old  halls,  where  an  evil  faith  had 
power, 


162     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

The  courtly  knights  of  her  father's  train,  and  the  maidens  of 

her  bower; 
And  she  hath  gone  to  the  Vaudois  vales  by  lordly  feet  untrod, 
Where  the  poor  and  needy  of  earth  are  rich  in  the  perfect  love 

of  God! 

The  candidates  for  the  ministry,  when  they  had 
finished  their  studies,  spent  a  year  or  two  in  one 
of  the  Hospices,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 
There,  in  retirement  and  meditation,  they  waited 
for  ordination  by  the  Synod.  Once  ordained, 
they  were  admitted  as  coadjutors  with  an  elder 
Barba,  or  regidor.  And  so,  two  and  two,  the  Barbi 
went  throughout  Italy,  France,  and  a  part  of  Ger- 
many, confirming  the  brethren  and  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  all  those  with  whom  they  came  in  con- 
tact. These  journeys  lasted  about  two  years. 
This  itinerant  ministry  did  not  favour  conjugal 
life,  which  they  were  not  very  anxious  about,  be- 
lieving that  celibacy  was  a  holier  state  than  matri- 
mony. When  stopping  at  a  place,  they  visited 
each  family  and  heard  the  confession  of  each  indi- 
vidual. When  there  was  a  possibility  of  meeting 
for  public  worship,  the  two  Barbi  (the  elder  of 
whom  always  led  the  service)  read  or  recited 
passages  of  the  Scriptures,  adding  an  explana- 
tion and  some  words  of  exhortation.  In  time  of 
peace,  they  gathered  together  in  the  open  air;  in 
time  of  persecution,  they  met  among  the  rocks  and 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  163 

in  caves.  Their  doctrine  was  not  altogether  free 
from  elements  of  Romanism,  such  as  salvation 
through  works,  transubstantiation,  though  not  in 
the  gross,  material  sense  held  by  the  Komanists, 
penance  after  voluntary  confession  followed  by 
absolution  in  the  form  I  have  already  mentioned, 
celibacy,  and  baptism,  which,  as  I  have  previously 
said,  they  did  not  administer  themselves  but  left 
to  be  administered  by  the  Eoman  priests.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  rejected  the  mass  as  an  expi- 
atory sacrifice,  purgatory,  indulgences,  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Virgin  and  saints,  papal  supremacy, 
and  other  novelties  introduced  into  Christianity 
by  Romanism.  They  considered  the  Bible  as  the 
only  and  sufficient  basis  of  belief.  In  this  last 
principle  they  were  brought  near  to  the  Reforma- 
tion; and  it  is  clear  that  the  influence  of  the 
Protestant  revolution  could  not  have  been  but 
beneficial  to  their  religious  convictions. 

When,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  strong 
breeze  of  the  Reformation  began  to  be  felt  in  Eu- 
rope, Piedmont  was  the  region  of  Italy  which,  on 
account  of  its  geographical  position,  felt  the  effects 
of  the  innovating  spirit  most.  The  works  of  Lu- 
ther, Melanchthon,  and  of  other  German  re- 
formers, translated  into  Latin  and  Italian,  began 
to  circulate  among  educated  persons;  and  the  peo- 


164    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

pie  at  large  came  little  by  little  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  new  doctrines  through  the  Waldensian  Barbi 
and  through  the  numerous  German  Protestants 
and  Huguenots  enlisted  in  the  armies  of  Charles 
V  and  of  Francis  I. 

But  what  attitude  were  the  Waldenses  to  adopt 
"  officially/ '  if  I  may  use  the  word,  towards  the 
new  Eeform  movement? 

That  was  to  them  a  most  pressing  problem. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  find  a  satisfactory  solu- 
tion, they  all  felt  the  necessity  of  precise  and 
detailed  information.  And  so,  first  in  1526,  then 
in  1530,  representatives  of  these  peasants  crossed 
their  mountains,  studied  the  movement  on  the 
spot,  and  returned  with  their  reports.  A  solution 
of  the  problem  was  now  quite  possible;  but  only 
a  General  Synod  had  the  power  to  pronounce  a 
final  decision ;  and  as  the  elder  and  more  influen- 
tial among  the  Barbi  were  at  that  time  in  Cala- 
bria and  in  Puglie,  the  solemn  assembly  could 
only  be  convoked  for  the  12th  September,  1532. 
Two  Barbi  were  sent  to  Switzerland  to  invite  to 
the  Synod  the  reformers  of  Neuchatel  and  Vaud, 
with  whom,  on  account  of  their  language,  they  had 
had  more  frequent  intercourse  than  with  German- 
speaking  reformers.  With  the  two  messengers 
came  back  Saulnier,  Olivetan,  and  Farel.     The 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  165 

Synod  was  held,  on  the  appointed  day,  under  the 
chestnut-trees  of  Cianforan  in  the  Angrogna  val- 
ley, and  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of  Barbi 
and  by  a  crowd  of  people.  After  a  long  and 
heated  discussion,  all  the  articles  proposed  by  the 
reformers  were  accepted.  The  conservative  party, 
composed  of  ex-priests  and  of  those  who  wished 
that  absolutely  nothing  should  be  changed  in  the 
doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  Waldensian  traditions, 
irritated  by  their  discomfiture,  went  to  Bohemia, 
where  they  made  it  widely  known  that  the  Wal- 
denses  had  accepted  the  Eeformation,  and,  to  use 
their  own  words,  that,  "  influenced  by  some  for- 
eign divines,  they  had  left  the  religion  of  their 
fathers  and  had  become  renegades."  The  Bo- 
hemian churches  sent  them  back  to  the  valleys, 
the  bearers  of  a  letter  in  which  they  reproached 
their  brethren  of  the  Alps  with  great  severity  for 
their  infidelity;  but  the  Synod  held  at  Prali  in 
1533  confirmed  the  decisions  taken  at  Cianforan, 
and  answered  the  brethren  of  Bohemia  by  show- 
ing them  clearly  that  the  two  Barbi  had  completely 
misled  them. 

At  the  Synod  of  Cianforan  it  was  also  decided 
that  a  sum  of  "  1,500  ecus  d'or  "  (equivalent  to 
about  $12,000)  should  be  devoted  to  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and  Olivetan,  who 


166  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
knew  Greek  very  well  and  Hebrew  still  better, 
was  charged  to  prepare  a  French  translation. 
The  Bible  was,  in  fact,  issued  at  Neuchatel  on  the 
4th  of  June  with  the  date :  ' '  From  the  Alps :  the 
12th  February,  1535,' '  and  at  once  took  the  place 
it  deserved  in  the  field  of  the  French  Reformation ; 
a  place  which  the  superficial  version  of  Jacques 
Lefevre  d'Etaples,  then  in  use,  had  never  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  for  itself.  Olivetan's  transla- 
tion, the  Old  Testament  especially,  which  Pro- 
fessor E.  Reuss  defined  as  "  a  true  masterpiece,' ' 
is  the  block  of  "  granite,' '  says  Professor  Dou- 
mergue,  "  which  perpetuates  the  features  of  the 
author  more  clearly  and  exactly  than  any  statue. ' ' 
"  And  let  us  never  forget,"  adds  the  learned  Pro- 
fessor, in  his  monumental  work  on  Jean  Calvin, 
"  that  Olivetan's  version  was  the  Bible  of  our 
forefathers,  the  Bible  read  secretly  in  our  fami- 
lies, meditated  upon  in  prisons  and  in  caves,  burnt 
at  the  stake  and  on  the  c  Autos-da-fe. '  No  wonder 
copies  of  it  have  become  so  rare.  How  is  it  pos- 
sible to  turn  over  their  leaves  without  being 
moved  1  Their  pages,  now  so  yellow,  sum  up  all 
the  piety  and  all  the  heroism  of  our  fathers.  Cer- 
tainly, if  Protestants  preserved  relics,  those  copies 
would  of  a  surety  be  reckoned  amongst  the  most 
valuable  and  precious." 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  167 

Supported  by  the  Reformation,  the  Waldenses 
began  to  build  churches.  About  1556  they  had 
already  erected  seven.  Eome  raged,  and  the  Pope 
induced  the  kings  of  France  to  persecute  the  Wal- 
denses, who,  between  the  French  kings  and  the 
princes  of  the  Hapsburg  House,  often  at  war  with 
each  other,  found  themselves  in  a  very  difficult 
position.  The  attacks  they  had  to  suffer  by  the 
troops  under  the  Conte  della  Trinita  of  execrable 
memory,  were  especially  terrible  on  account  of 
cunning  and  cruelty.  They  enjoyed  some  respite 
after  the  peace  signed  at  Cavour,7  which,  owing 
to  the  loyalty  of  Emanuel  Filiberto,  was  signed  in 
defiance  of  all  the  anger  of  Rome.  But  persecu- 
tion soon  broke  out  again ;  and  it  would  be  impos- 
sible here  to  relate  all  the  scenes  of  bloodshed  that 
took  place  one  after  the  other  up  to  the  year  1630, 
when,  in  addition  to  all  other  troubles,  a  fearful 
scourge  fell  on  them :  the  terrible  pestilence,  which 
Alessandro  Manzoni  has  described  in  immortal 
pages,8  and  which  brought  to  the  valleys,  as  well 
as  other  places,  desolation  and  mourning.  All  that 
seemed  destined  to  be  but  the  beginning  of  other 
calamities.  On  the  ducal  throne  of  the  House  of 
Savoy  in  Piedmont  sat  Charles  Emanuel  II,  under 
the  regency  of  his  mother,  Christina,  daughter  of 

7  6th  June,  1561.  8A.  Manzoni:  I  Promessi  Sposi. 


168     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Henry  IV  and  of  Marie  oV  Medici;  the  country 
was  convulsed  with  civil  war,  and  the  Waldenses 
armed  themselves  to  serve  their  prince.  But,  alas, 
with  what  ingratitude  were  they  repaid !  On  the 
25th  January,  1655,  the  Duke,  who  by  that  time 
had  come  of  age,  anxious  to  give  an  eloquent  proof 
of  his  religious  zeal,  signed  an  unjust  and  cruel 
edict,  by  which  all  the  Waldenses  living  in  the 
territories  of  Torre,  San  Giovanni,  Luserna,  Bib- 
biena,  and  the  neighbouring  places,  were  ordered 
either  to  recant  or  to  go  into  exile  under  the  pain 
of  death  and  forfeiture  of  all  their  goods.  The 
Waldenses  at  once  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Court, 
but  it  was  not  received.  Meanwhile,  a  ducal  army 
of  15,000  men,  partly  French,  partly  Irish,  and 
partly  brigands,  guided  by  friars,  all  under  the 
command  of  the  Marquis  of  Pianazza,  fell  on  the 
unarmed  peasants;  and  on  the  24th  of  April, 
Easter  Day,  that  abominable  butchery  known  as 
"  le  Pasque  Piemontesi  "  (Piedmontese  Easter) 
began:  the  Waldenses  resisted  valiantly;  two  cap- 
tains, Jahier  and  Janavel,  proved  themselves  to 
be  true  heroes ;  but,  alas,  not  even  heroism  was  of 
any  use  against  the  overpowering  number  and 
the  bloodthirstiness  of  a  cruel  enemy.  The  infa- 
mous outrages  and  terrible  tortures  inflicted  on 
men,  women,  and  children  before  their  death  can- 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  169 

not  be  retold.  Such  as  escaped,  died  in  great  num- 
bers on  the  mountains  where  the  snow  was  still 
deep,  whilst  the  soldiers  of  the  Eoman  Catholic 
church  were  setting  fire  to  churches  and  houses, 
uprooting  trees  and  vineyards,  and  reducing  the 
whole  country  to  a  wilderness,  strewn  with  naked 
and  mutilated  corpses.  When  the  soldiers  had 
satiated  themselves  with  slaughtering,  nailing  up, 
and  flaying  their  victims,  they  dragged  those  who 
remained  into  prison,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  up 
some  to  public  execution  for  the  benefit  of  the 
inhabitants  in  the  plains,  and  of  leaving  the  rest 
to  die  of  hunger,  in  fetid  jails.  The  children, 
dispersed  all  over  Piedmont,  were  brought  up  in 
the  faith  of  those  murderers.  A  cry  of  horror 
arose  from  the  valleys  which  was  heard  through- 
out all  Europe ;  Cromwell  intervened  with  threats ; 
even  Louis  XIV  interposed  to  stop  the  inhuman 
massacre,  the  memory  of  which  Milton  transmitted 
to  posterity  in  his  immortal  sonnet : 

"  Avenge,  O  Lord !  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold; 
Even  them  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 
When  all  our  fathers  worshipped  stocks  and  stones, 
Forget  not:  in  thy  book  record  their  groans 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold 
Slain  by  the  bloody  Piemontese  that  rolled 
Mother  with  infant  down  the  rocks.    Their  moans 


170    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

The  vales  redoubled  to  the  hills,  and  they 
To  heaven.    Their  martyred  blood  and  ashes  sow 
O'er  all  the  Italian  fields,  where  still  doth  sway 

The  triple  tyrant;  that  from  these  may  grow 
A  hundredfold,  who  having  learned  thy  way 
Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  woe." 

But  Louis  XIV,  advanced  in  age,  was  getting 
anxious  about  securing  absolution  from  the 
Church  for  his  impure  and  scandalous  life;  and 
to  make  certain  of  getting  it,  he  revoked  the  Edict 
of  Nantes ; 8  that  is  to  say,  he  let  loose  the  fierce 
fanaticism  of  the  Church  of  Eome  against  Prot- 
estants. He  did  not  want  to  have  all  the  glory  of 
such  an  iniquitous  undertaking  for  himself;  and, 
therefore,  he  asked  Victor  Amadeus  II,  Duke  of 
Savoy,  to  share  it  with  him ;  and  the  Duke,  on  the 
30th  January,  1686,  published  an  edict  of  per- 
secution, in  consequence  of  which  blood  flowed 
freely  again  in  the  valleys,  14,000  Waldenses  were 
dragged  into  prison,  2,000  children  were  forcibly 
confined  in  houses  and  monasteries  in  order  to  be 
taught  the  Eoman  catechism,  and  a  remnant  of 
armed  peasants  had  to  go  into  exile.  Of  the 
14,000  who  were  imprisoned,  11,000  perished  of 
hunger,  fever,  and  infection,  in  the  darkness  of 
their  damp  and  pestilential  jails.  Of  the  surviv- 
ing remnant  only  2,500  arrived  by  the  end  of 
April,  1687,  in  hospitable  Geneva,  excluding  about 

822d  October,  1685. 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  171 

800  who,  during  that  very  severe  winter,  died  of 
hunger  and  other  sufferings,  and  marked  with 
their  corpses  the  "  Via  Crucis  "  of  their  exile. 

But  God  was  with  that  handful  of  heroes;  and 
about  three  years  later,  on  the  night  of  the  15th 
and  the  16th  August,  1689,10  they  left  the  wood  of 
Prangin,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva, 
to  return  to  their  beloved  land.  They  were  about 
a  thousand  men  in  all,  divided  into  twenty  com- 
panies ;  among  them  were  several  hundred  French 
refugees.  They  were  led  by  Henri  Arnaud,  pastor 
and  captain  at  the  same  time,  following  a  plan 
drawn  up  by  Janavel.  How  can  I  recall  here  all 
the  glorious  episodes  of  that  march,  which  Na- 
poleon I  called  the  grandest  military  enterprise 
of  the  century? 

On  the  27th  August  they  first  set  foot  in  their 
native  country.11  They  were  then  reduced  to  400 ; 
of  the  other  600,  part  had  fallen  in  battle,  or  had 
been  taken  prisoners;  and  others,  especially  the 
French,  had  deserted,  exhausted  and  discouraged 

10  The  date  referred  to  here  is  based  on  the  Julian  Calendar, 
which  was  then  still  in  use  among  Protestants.  (Some  say:  the 
night  between  the  16th  and  the  17th  August,  instead  of  the  night 
between  15th-16th.)  According  to  the  Gregorian  Calendar,  which 
had  by  that  time  been  adopted  by  Roman  Catholics,  the  date 
would  be:  the  night  between  25th-26th  (or,  according  to  the 
statement  of  those  already  referred  to:  the  night  between  26th- 
27th). 

"At  the  hamlet  of  Balziglia. 


172     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

by  the  fatigues  endured  for  a  country  that  was  not 
theirs.  And,  behold,  there  at  last  is  Prali,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Germanasca  valley,  the  highest  of  the 
hamlets  in  all  the  valleys.  There,  Arnaud,  the 
great  leader,  standing  on  a  boulder,  so  as  to  be 
heard  better,  preached  on  some  verses  of  the  124th 
Psalm.  It  was  the  first  sermon  heard  by  the  Wal- 
denses  since  their  return  to  the  land  of  their 
fathers;  and  the  Lord  so  ordered  it,  that  they 
heard  it  at  Prali,  whose  saintly  pastor  had  been 
captured  in  1686,  the  year  of  the  exile,  while  sing- 
ing Psalms  among  the  rocks,  and  had  been  taken 
to  Luserna  for  his  final  sufferings.  Not  far  from 
Bobbio,  on  the  Pellice  torrent,  is  Sibaud.  There 
the  repatriated  exiles  took  the  historical  oath  by 
which  they  engaged  themselves  to  be  true  to  each 
other,  to  honour  God,  to  obey  their  superiors,  and 
vowed  to  God  ' '  that  they  would  snatch  the  rest  of 
their  brethren  from  the  hand  of  cruel  Babylon.' ' 
One  hour  distant  from  the  village  of  Massello  is 
Balziglia,  a  hamlet  overshadowed  by  the  ruins  of 
a  castle  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain.  There,  the 
400  heroes  passed  the  winter,  the  severe  winter  of 
the  high  Alps,  living  in  the  midst  of  all  kinds  of 
privations ;  and  when  it  looked  as  if  man  could  do 
nothing  more  for  them,  God  came  to  their  rescue, 
by  disclosing,  when  the  first  spring  breezes  began 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  173 

to  thaw  the  snow,  fields  of  corn  that  the  Savoyards 
had  not  been  able  to  reap,  and  that  had  remained 
untouched  under  a  white  wintry  mantle.  There, 
the  400,  reduced  still  further,  strove  against  12,000 
soldiers  of  Victor  Amadeus  II  and  10,000  of  Louis 
XIV.  There,  this  handful  of  heroes,  when  the 
French  commander  had  sent  to  say  to  them: 
"  Come  and  treat  with  us  now,  for  it  will  be  too 
late  when  the  cannon  roars,"  boldly  replied:  "  If 
your  cannon  roars,  our  rocks  will  not  be  afraid, 
and  we  shall  stop  to  listen!  "  There,  a  dense  fog 
suddenly  covered  the  Balziglia,  and  the  besieged, 
concealed  from  the  eyes  of  the  enemy,  got  away 
safely  when  all  seemed  lost,  to  receive,  freed  from 
the  jaws  of  the  lion,  the  glad  news  that  the  Duke 
had  broken  his  alliance  with  Louis  XIV,  and  re- 
quired their  aid  against  the  French. 

The  seventeenth  century  closed  in  the  valleys 
with  the  splendour  of  this  glorious  * '  Eeturn  ' ' ; 
and  the  eighteenth  dawned,  bringing  with  it  very 
little  hope  of  liberty  of  conscience  to  the  people. 
What  could  be  hoped  for  when  Victor  Amadeus 
II,  after  having  addressed  Arnaud  and  his  com- 
panions in  the  famous  words : "  If,  as  is  your  duty, 
you  risk  your  lives  in  my  service,  I  will  risk  mine 
for  you;  and  as  long  as  I  have  a  piece  of  bread  I 
will  share  it  with  you,"  renewed  his  friendship 


174    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

with  Louis  XIV  and  made  a  treaty  with  him, 
whereby  Arnaud  and  2,300  of  his  companions,  who 
had  risked  their  lives  for  him,  had  to  tread  again 
the  way  to  exile? 12  But  even  princes  cannot  with 
impunity  break  their  promises !  Thirty-four  years 
later,13  alone,  deprived  of  his  crown,  almost  out  of 
his  mind,  after  having  exclaimed :  * '  My  son,  my 
son !  let  me  at  least  see  my  son  again !  .  .  .  "  in  the 
same  castle  of  Moncalieri  where  the  above  promise 
was  made,  Victor  Amadeus  expired  without  see- 
ing his  son  again,  and  vainly  asking  from  the  set- 

12  The  Waldenses  and  the  French  refugees,  who  had  enrolled 
themselves  in  great  numbers  under  the  flag  of  Savoy,  gallantly 
shed  their  blood  in  several  battles  between  1690  and  1697.  Not- 
withstanding, the  Duke,  having  made  peace  with  the  King  of 
France,  in  order  to  gratify  him,  issued  an  edict  on  1st  July, 
1698,  expelling  from  Piedmont  all  Protestants  born  in  France. 
On  the  strength  of  this  iniquitous  decree  even  Arnaud,  who  had 
then  been  living  in  the  Waldensian  valleys  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  was  forced  into  exile  with  2,300  inhabitants  of  those  moun- 
tain villages,  and  thirteen  of  their  ministers.  In  the  summer 
of  1699,  almost  all  settled  in  Wurtemberg  and  in  Hesse.  There 
they  grouped  themselves  according  to  their  native  hamlets, 
founded  villages,  giving  them  the  names  of  those  in  their  be- 
loved far-away  country,  and  established  Protestant  churches. 
So  that  even  to-day  one  finds  in  those  States  a  population  speak- 
ing German,  but  still  bearing  Waldensian  names,  and  villages 
called  Perosa,  Pinasca,  Villar,  and  so  on,  as  in  the  Piedmontese 
valleys.  And  among  those  peasants  whom  he  had  twice  led  in 
search  of  a  home-land,  Arnaud  passed  away  peacefully  on  the 
8th  September,  1721,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  His  memory  is 
deservedly  kept  in  great  veneration  among  the  Waldenses  of  Ger- 
many and  those  of  Italy  as  well. 

"31st  October,  1732. 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  175 

ting  sun  the  smile  and  the  kiss  which  every  even- 
ing for  eleven  years  had  gently  rested  on  the  tomb 
of  Arnaud,  in  the  little  chapel  of  Schonenberg. 
What  could  be  hoped  for  when  Charles  Emanuel 
III  ordered  a  complete  collection  of  the  past 
edicts  of  oppression  to  be  made,  to  remind  the 
Waldenses,  as  it  were,  that  it  was  in  vain  to  hope 
for  a  little  respite? 

Putting  aside  the  concessions  enjoyed  in  the 
times  of  the  French  domination,  and  dearly  paid 
for  after  the  restoration,  and  excepting  some  oc- 
casional gracious  act  on  the  part  of  those  in 
authority,  who  at  times  were  more  indulgent  than 
the  laws  themselves,  a  few  words  will  describe  the 
wretched  social  condition  of  the  Waldenses  during 
the  eighteenth  century  and  up  to  the  17th  Feb- 
ruary, 1848:  Extraordinary  taxes,  demands  for 
payment  of  old  debts,  missions  by  rapacious 
priests,  prohibition  of  books  connected  with  their 
worship  and  schools;  their  residence  on  the  soil 
of  the  valleys  barely  tolerated,  and  always  more 
or  less  insecure,  at  the  will  of  the  prince.  The 
population  increased,  but  the  law  forbade  any 
extension  in  the  limits  of  their  country;  outside 
the  valleys  no  Waldensian  could  retain  any  pos- 
sessions; and  only  surreptitiously  a  Waldensian 
could  succeed  in  exercising  his  industry  or  carry 


176     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

on  commerce  outside  the  valleys.  All  public  posts 
were  forbidden  them,  except  that  of  Syndic ;  no  one 
could  become  an  advocate ;  three  or  four  individ- 
uals alone,  out  of  a  population  of  more  than  20,000, 
could  be  notaries ;  and  if  any  one  succeeded  in  be- 
coming a  doctor,  he  could  only  practise  the  heal- 
ing art  among  his  coreligionists.  A  Waldensian 
could  be  pressed  in  every  imaginable  way  to 
change  his  religion;  woe  to  him,  however,  if  he 
spoke  of  his  faith  to  a  Eoman  Catholic.  Eoman 
Catholic  churches  could  be  multiplied  ad  infinitum 
in  the  valleys ;  but  not  an  evangelical  church  could 
be  added  to  those  already  in  existence.  Any  slan- 
derer could,  at  will,  publish  any  kind  of  calumny 
regarding  the  faith,  life,  or  person  of  a  Walden- 
sian; but  it  was  made  impossible  for  him  to 
defend  himself.  And  there  was  worse  yet.  A 
boy  over  twelve  years,  or  a  girl  over  ten,  had 
the  right  to  throw  off  all  paternal  authority 
on  the  pretext  of  wishing  to  become  a  Eoman 
Catholic! 

Such  a  state  of  things,  at  least,  in  the  very  mid- 
dle of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  evidently  an 
anachronism,  not  to  say  an  iniquity.  A  priest, 
Vincenzo  Gioberti,  writing  a  short  time  before  the 
Edict  of  1848,  although  he  calls  the  Waldenses 
"  heretics,' '  yet  is  far  from  approving  of  their 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  177 

treatment  in  the  past.  "  That  persecution  was  an 
error  must  be  kept  in  mind,,,  he  wrote,  "  and  we 
must  remember  this  in  order  to  inspire  us  to  re- 
pair, as  amply  as  possible,  the  wrongs  committed 
by  our  forefathers. ' ' 14  And  when  the  ' '  Statuto  ' ' 
of  the  kingdom  of  Piedmont  was  announced, 
which  in  its  first  article  declared  the  State  re- 
ligion to  be  Eoman  Catholic,  and  so  left  people  in 
doubt  as  to  whether  non-Roman  Catholics  were  to 
be  granted  full  liberty  or  kept  in  slavery,  the 
liberals  themselves  called  loud  and  strong  for  the 
emancipation  of  the  Waldenses  and  the  Jews. 
Charles  Albert  received  a  petition  covered  with 
signatures,  amongst  the  first  of  which  were  those 
of  Roberto  d'Azeglio,  of  Camillo  Cavour,  of 
Cesare  Balbo,  and  of  not  a  few  members  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  clergy ;  in  which  petition  the  min- 
ister, Roberto  d'Azeglio,  said:  "  We  submit  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  King  the  advisability  of  a  measure 
which,  bringing  our  dissenting  brethren  within  the 
shelter  of  the  common  laws,  should  cause  the  pro- 
hibitions, which  exclude  them  from  the  rights  of 
property  and  from  honourable  professions,  to 
cease ;  so  that,  recognising  by  long  experience  the 
uselessness  of  proselytising  by  force  and  persecu- 
tion, we  may  try  to  go  forward  in  the  way  of 

"Vincenzo  Gioberti:  Del  Primato  morale  e  civile  degli  Italiani. 


178     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

charity  and  brotherhood,  in  the  spirit  of  Catholic 
Truth.'  > 

The  Government,  in  spite  of  the  apprehensions 
of  the  clerical  party,  convinced  that  force  and  vio- 
lence are  inefficient  custodians  of  religion,  pub- 
lished on  17th  February,  1848,  the  Edict  of 
Emancipation,  which  runs  as  follows : 

"  CHARLES  ALBERT 
"by  the  grace  of  god,  etc.,  etc. 

"  Taking  into  consideration  the  loyalty  and  good-will  of  the 
Waldensian  people,  Our  royal  predecessors  have  by  degrees,  and 
with  successive  provisions,  abrogated  in  part  or  moderated  the 
laws  which  formerly  restrained  their  civil  powers.  And  We,  fol- 
lowing in  their  footsteps,  have  conceded  to  please  Our  subjects 
more  ample  facilities,  granting  them  frequent  and  large  dis- 
pensations in  the  observance  of  the  said  laws.  Now  that  the 
motives  which  prompted  these  restrictions  have  ceased,  the  pro- 
gressive system  favourable  to  them  can  be  completed,  and  We 
have  resolved,  with  all  good-will,  to  make  them  sharers  in 
every  advantage  in  keeping  with  the  general  maxims  of  Our 
legislation.  And  therefore  in  this  Edict,  with  Our  Royal  Au- 
thority, and  with  the  approval  of  Our  ministry,  We  have  com- 
manded and  do  command  the  following: — The  Waldenses  are 
admitted  to  enjoy  all  the  civil  and  political  rights  of  Our  sub- 
jects, to  attend  schools  and  universities,  and  to  acquire  academical 
degrees. 

"  Nothing  is  thereby  altered  in  regard  to  the  exercise  of  their 
religion  and  the  schools  conducted  by  them. 

"  We  annul  every  law  contrary  to  this  one,  which  We  send 
to  Our  Senate  and  to  the  Office  to  be  registered,  and  to  whom- 
soever is  concerned  in  the  observance  of  it,  or  in  causing  it  to  be 
observed;  ordering  that  it  should  be  inserted  in  the  archives  of 
State. 

"  Chables  Albert,  etc.*' 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  179 

On  the  proclamation  of  the  Edict,  the  palaces  of 
the  English  and  Prussian  Embassies,  and  the 
houses  of  the  Waldenses  and  other  coreligionists 
in  Turin,  were  illuminated  as  if  by  magic. 

In  the  valleys  of  Pinerolo  there  were  great  re- 
joicings; addresses  were  delivered,  hymns  sung, 
bonfires  lighted.  More  than  a  hundred  fires 
crowned  Castelluzzo  and  Vandalino.  Every 
breast  was  adorned  by  the  blue  cockade,  and  on 
the  roads  they  sang  the  new  songs  of  liberty  and 
eulogised  King  Charles  Albert  and  Italy. 

At  Turin  the  public  rejoicings  attained  a  na- 
tional importance.  Eoberto  d'Azeglio  himself 
was  the  promoter  of  a  demonstration  on  Sun- 
day, 27th  February,  to  celebrate  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Statuto  even  before  it  came  into 
effect.15 

From  the  Saturday,  Turin  was  in  a  commotion. 
Groups  of  citizens  awaited  at  the  gates  of  the 
town  those  who  were  arriving  from  the  country 
and  province ;  and  at  every  meeting  the  manifesta- 
tions of  joy  and  enthusiasm  were  renewed. 
Hands  were  clasped  amidst  embraces,  kisses, 
tears ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  air  resounded  with 
joyous  songs,  saluting  the  sudden  appearing  of 
the  angel  of  freedom  and  peace. 

"The  Statuto  was  promulgated  on  the  4th  March. 


180     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

The  night  was  short,  and  when  the  gun  from 
the  castle  announced  that  the  new  day  had  risen, 
all  Turin  was  on  foot,  and  the  streets,  which  for  a 
few  hours  had  been  deserted,  were  crowded  anew. 
At  nine  o'clock,  on  the  "  Campo  di  Marte,"  there 
appeared,  pouring  out  of  the  streets,  the  numerous 
companies  which  composed  the  procession.  There 
were  those  from  Sardinia,  Liguria,  Nice,  Savoy; 
all  the  provinces  of  Piedmont  were  represented 
with  great  standards  at  their  head  and  thousands 
of  small  banners  behind;  bands  played  martial 
music  interspersed  with  the  singing  of  national 
hymns,  and  often  drowned  by  the  "  Ewivas  "  of 
the  excited  populace. 

The  streets  through  which  the  procession  was 
to  pass,  were  in  holiday  dress ;  everywhere  tapes- 
tries, garlands,  inscriptions,  and  a  sea  of  banners. 
But  the  centre  of  the  display  was  the  "  Piazza 
Castello."  On  the  balcony  of  the  palace  was  the 
Queen  with  her  ladies  and  a  group  of  officers ;  in 
front,  in  a  semicircle,  between  the  balcony  and  the 
castle,  was  the  King  on  horseback  with  the  princes 
at  his  side,  and  all  round  a  crowd  of  generals  and 
of  illustrious  and  powerful  personages.  The  peo- 
ple could  not  be  numbered ;  they  were  everywhere 
— in  the  square,  at  the  windows,  on  balconies,  on 
roofs,  and  even  on  the  towers  of  the  castle.    An 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  181 

immense  spectacle,  grand,  indescribable!  Those 
who  saw  it  have  never  forgotten  it. 

And  here  comes  the  procession.  As  each  depu- 
tation passes,  a  resounding  "  Ewiva  "  comes 
from  thousands  of  throats.  One  banner  among 
the  others  attracts  the  attention  of  all.  On  an 
azure  ground  was  an  inscription  surmounted  by 
the  royal  arms;  the  inscription  was:  To  Charles 
Albert  from  the  grateful  Waldenses.  About  six 
hundred  men  followed  that  banner.  By  a  delicate 
thoughtfulness  on  the  part  of  those  who  arranged 
the  festival,  so  that  in  this  day  of  common  glad- 
ness the  Waldenses  might  no  longer  remember 
the  humiliations  endured  for  so  many  centuries, 
their  banner  was  given  the  place  of  honour,  at  the 
head  of  the  corporations  of  the  capital. — "  They 
have  been  last  long  enough,"  the  organisers  of 
the  cortege  said ; — ' '  let  them  be  first  this  time !  ' ' 

At  the  Campo  di  Marte,  the  Genoese  deputation 
had  tendered  them  their  congratulations  on  the 
freedom  obtained ;  and  in  those  very  streets  where 
the  name  "  Waldensian  "  had  only  been  heard 
coupled  with  insults  and  opprobrium,  one  cry 
alone  was  raised  when  the  six  hundred  passed 
along:  "  Long  live  our  Waldensian  brothers! 
Hurrah  for  the  Emancipation  of  the  Waldenses !  " 

The  banner  passed  before  the  students,  and  a 


182     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

frantic  cry  was  raised :  '  *  Long  live  liberty  of  con- 
science! Long  live  liberty  of  worship!  "  and  to 
that  cry  the  other  responded :  ' '  Long  live  our 
Waldensian  brethren !  ' '  While  their  Waldensian 
brethren  passed,  hands  grasped  theirs,  and  more 
than  one  of  these  young  men  broke  through  the 
ranks  and  threw  himself  upon  the  neck  of  these 
grave  mountaineers,  whose  voices  were  so  choked 
with  emotion  that  they  could  only  reply  by  tears 
of  recognition.  Who  could  tell  what  emotion  the 
six  hundred  felt  when,  reaching  the  balcony  of  the 
Palace,  they  found  themselves  suddenly  in  the 
presence  of  the  magnanimous  Prince,  who,  break- 
ing asunder  the  chains  of  their  ancient  servitude, 
had  called  them  and  their  children  into  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  new  existence? 

In  this  same  square,  overcrowded  with  people, 
three  hundred  years  before,  on  the  29th  March, 
1558,  GiofTredo  Varaglia,  pastor  of  the  Walden- 
sian parish  of  San  Giovanni  in  the  Luserna  val- 
ley, suffered  martyrdom.  To  the  executioner, 
who,  according  to  custom,  asked  his  forgiveness, 
he  replied:  "  Not  only  do  I  pardon  you,  but  also 
those  who  have  imprisoned  me,  those  who  have 
brought  me  hither,  and  those  who  have  condemned 
me.  Take  courage,  do  your  duty;  my  death  will 
not  be  in  vain,"    And  he  began  to  pray;  aloud 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  183 

he  invoked  his  God;  and  the  executioner,  having 
strangled  him,  set  fire  to  the  pile. — His  death  was 
not  in  vain!  "  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the 
seed  of  the  Church  ";  and  the  six  hundred  of  '48 
saluted,  doubtless,  the  sacred  memory  of  Giof- 
fredo  Varaglia  and  of  the  Waldensian  martyrs  of 
all  ages  who,  with  their  love  for  the  Truth  and 
with  their  self-sacrifice,  insured  to  their  church  a 
liberty  which  no  one  will  ever  again  take  from 
her.  "  The  gifts  of  God  are  without  repentance.' ' 
What  the  world  cannot  give,  God  gives ;  and  when 
He  has  given  it,  the  world  cannot  take  away ! 


Throughout  all  Italy,  from  the  Alps  to  the  very 
end  of  Sicily,  wherever  there  is  a  group  of 
brethren  having  for  their  crest  the  candlestick 
and  seven  stars,  there  the  17th  February  is  com- 
memorated every  year;  commemorated  in  peace, 
without  hatred  or  indignation. 

On  the  17th  February  we  do  not  think  of  In- 
nocent VIII,  or  of  the  baptism  of  blood18  which 
our  church  received  at  his  hands  among  the 
rocks  of  Pra  del  Torno  and  of  the  Colli  della  Croce 
e  d'Abries;  we  forget  that  many  a  time,  wander- 
ing among  those  rocks,  we  seemed  to  hear  the 

16  27th  April,  1487. 


184     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

lamentations  of  women  outraged,  of  men  muti- 
lated, and  of  children  torn  asunder;  but,  remem- 
bering the  mocking  inscription  on  the  Pope's 
tombstone  in  St.  Peter's  at  Eome:  "  Innocentia 
mea  ingressus  sum,"  "  I  have  entered  into  my 
rest  through  my  innocence,' '  we  only  say  to  our 
little  ones:  "  Children,  do  not  wait  until  others 
cover  your  iniquities  with  the  mantle  of  a  lying 
epitaph;  prepare  your  epitaph  yourselves  by  liv- 
ing a  pure  life,  a  Christian  life,  a  life  entirely  con- 
secrated to  Goodness." 

On  the  17th  February  we  forget  the  "  Pasque 
Piemontesi,"  17  we  forget  Charles  Emanuel  II, 
Innocent  X,  and  Maria  Christina  who  reigned  for 
Charles,  and  Donna  Olimpia  who  acted  as  Pope 
for  Innocent.  History,  not  we,  will  tell  the  world 
that  there,  in  the  Waldensian  valleys,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  seventeenth  century,  at  their  instigation, 
human  sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  glory  of  the 
God  of  the  New  Covenant,  who  is  the  God  of  Love ! 

The  17th  February  is  not  a  day  of  recrimina- 
tion ;  it  is  a  day  of  oblivion,  or  pardon ;  not  only, 
but  also  a  day  of  solemn  "  memento  "  and  of 
special  expressions  of  gratitude.  Of  solemn 
"  memento,"  I  say,  because  the  Church  of  the 
martyrs  must  not  forget  (and  in  my  next  chapter 

"15th  May,  1650. 


The  Israel  of  the  Alps  185 

I  shall  show  that  she  has  not  forgotten)  that 
civil  liberty  was  granted  to  her  not  as  an  end,  but 
as  a  means  of  making  others  spiritually  free. 
And  of  special  gratitude  also:  of  gratitude  to- 
wards the  great  ones  who  first  put  in  a  word  in 
favour  of  her  emancipation;  of  gratitude  to  the 
noble  hearts  who  promoted  the  petition  which 
brought  about  the  freedom;  of  gratitude  to  the 
prince  who  signed  the  Edict,  and,  above  all,  of 
gratitude  towards  God;  for,  as  the  heroes  of  the 
"  glorious  Eeturn  "  recognised  their  deliverance 
from  the  executioners  of  Louis  XIV  and  Victor 
Amadeus  as  a  gift  from  God,  so  does  the  Walden- 
sian  church  to-day  recognise  the  Edict  of  her 
emancipation  as  His  loving  and  unspeakable  gift. 


MISSIONARY  BLOSSOM  AND  EVANGEL- 
ICAL FRUIT  IN  THE  GARDEN  OF 
ITALY, 


MISSIONAEY  BLOSSOM  AND  EVANGEL- 
ICAL FRUIT  IN  THE  GARDEN  OF 
ITALY 

WE  have  already  seen  how  God  raised  up 
in  Italy  the  Waldensian  church  and  kept 
her  alive  through  many  fiery  persecu- 
tions. Evidently  God,  in  so  doing,  had  an  aim,  a 
special  mission  to  entrust  to  the  church  of  His 
heart.  As  He  intended  ancient  Israel  to  be  the 
evangelist  of  the  world,  so  He  intended  the  Israel 
of  the  Alps  to  be  the  evangelist  of  Italy.  How  far 
the  Israel  of  the  Alps  understood  its  mission  we 
shall  shortly  see.  First  of  all,  however,  I  think 
it  necessary  to  speak  of  a  spiritual  revival  which 
took  place  in  Italy  independently  of  the  Walden- 
sian church  and  which  was  already  secretly  in 
action  in  the  Italian  field  when  the  Waldensian 
church  was  still  chained  to  her  rocks  awaiting  an 
edict  that  would  emancipate  her  from  her  im- 
memorial bondage. 

During  the  first  half  of  1800,  Italy,  divided  and 

189 


190     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

subdivided,  was  oppressed  by  the  tyranny  of  for- 
eigners, of  Jesuits,  and  of  the  Inquisition;  the 
failure  of  the  Italian  revolution  of  1831  had 
caused  the  bitterness  of  delusion  to  take  the  place 
of  the  first  enthusiasm  for  a  liberty  so  long  hoped 
for ;  the  hurricane  of  the  French  Eevolution  pass- 
ing over  Italy,  had  carried  away  from  the  mind  of 
even  the  best  that  small  remnant  of  religion  which 
they  no  longer  possessed  in  their  hearts;  when, 
suddenly,  freedom  appeared  to  revive  in  the 
Italian  field  of  literature  and  science,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  it  would  revive  in  the  field  of  religion  also. 

The  cradle  of  the  religious  revival  which  I  am 
alluding  to,  was  in  Tuscany;  and  in  Florence 
especially. 

How  did  it  come  about? 

Nobody  can  say  exactly;  "  the  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth  and  thou  hearest  the  sound 
thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and 
whither  it  goeth."1  The  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  had  already  begun  to  print  the 
Italian  New  Testament  in  1808,  and  the  Italian 
Bible  followed  in  1821.  The  sacred  volumes,  which 
were  sold  at  a  low  price,  were  circulated  in  great 
secrecy,  and  sometimes  in  ways  as  ingenious  as 
those  in  which  Tyndale's  version  was  scattered 

^ohn  iii.  8. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    191 

far  and  wide  throughout  the  country  in  spite  of 
the  utmost  vigilance  at  English  ports.2  English, 
Scotch,  and  American  people  who  were  in  Italy, 
attracted  by  the  mildness  of  the  climate  and  the 
poetic  beauty  of  the  land,  did  not  forget  the  com- 
mand of  their  Master  to  be  His  witnesses,  and 
lent  themselves,  with  no  little  personal  danger,  to 
the  secret  propagation  of  the  Word  of  God  in  that 
country.  Hermann  Reuchlin  relates  3  that  during 
the  revolution  in  1831,  a  large  number  of  Bibles 
had  already  been  introduced  into  the  pontifical 
States.  The  Roman  Catholics,  however,  had  been 
warned,  since  the  year  1816,  against  all  Bible  So- 
cieties, which  were  called  a  "  pestilence  ";  and  in 
1824  Leo  XII  told  them  that  through  the  activity 
of  such  societies  "  the  Gospel  of  Christ  had  be- 
come nothing  but  the  word  of  man ;  nay,  more ;  the 
word  of  the  devil.' '  Rome  watched  with  Argus' 
eyes  and  pitilessly  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
secular  arm  any  one  found  to  be  the  possessor  or 
the  circulator  of  Bibles  or  New  Testaments.  Many 
hid  the  sacred  volumes  underground  or  in  secret 
corners  of  their  houses  so  as  to  avoid  falling  into 

3  William  Tyndale  (b.  1484,  d.  at  the  stake  on  6th  October, 
1536)  completed  in  Worms,  in  1526,  the  printing  of  his  transla- 
tion of  the  New  Testament,  which  he  had  begun  in  Cologne  in 
1525. 

3  Ermanno  Reuclin:  Storia  d'ltalia,  Vol.  I,  p.  231. 


192     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

the  clutches  of  the  police ;  others  threw  them  into 
rivers ;  and  not  a  few  of  them  providentially  came 
to  light  again,  sometimes  in  the  most  unexpected 
ways,  and  so  became,  in  their  turn,  means  of  a 
revival.  Two  men,  for  instance,  went  one  day  to 
bathe  in  the  Arno  near  Signa;  they  saw  a  book 
being  carried  away  by  the  current;  one  of  them 
got  hold  of  it,  and  found  that  it  was  a  Bible; 
he  began  to  read  and  study  it,  and  in  a  short  time 
was  led  from  the  darkness  of  Eoman  superstition 
to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ.  Perhaps,  in  God's 
Providence,  even  the  Protestant  soldiers  who  had 
come  to  Italy  to  enroll  themselves  in  the  army  of 
the  Pope  or  of  the  Bourbons  may  have  had  a  share 
in  the  spreading  of  the  Gospel  in  Italy;  what  is 
certain  is  that  the  Protestant  communities 
founded  by  foreigners  for  their  countrymen  in 
Italy,  and  the  so-called  "  Children's  Schools,' '  had 
a  not  unimportant  share  in  the  revival.  As  the 
dawn  of  the  Tuscan  evangelical  mission  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  two  last  named  insti- 
tutions, some  more  information  about  them  may 
not  be  out  of  place. 


The  Protestant  communities  scattered  here  and 
there  in  the  larger  Italian  cities  were  generally 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    193 

composed  of  Swiss,  Dutch,  German,  and  English 
people.  The  most  ancient  of  these  was  in  Venice, 
for  we  read  of  certain  rights  granted  to  it  by  the 
Eepublic  as  far  back  as  1565.  Then  come  those 
of  Leghorn,4  Bergamo,5  Rome,6  Genoa,7  Naples,8 
Florence,9  and  Milan.10  To  those  communities 
other  institutions  were  sometimes  attached,  such 
as  the  * '  Peres  de  Famille  ' }  X1  in  Florence,  and 
later  on  the  "  Deaconesses  of  Kaiserwerth,"  12 
which  were  non-confessional,  but  had  a  distinctly 
Protestant  stamp.  All  these  institutions  were  un- 
able to  engage  openly  in  evangelical  mission  work, 

4  The  Chiesa  Olandese-Alemanna  of  Leghorn,  organised  in 
1607,  was  at  first  a  Roman  Catholic  body.  In  1773  a  Protestant 
minister  was  called  as  pastor.  In  1828  a  society  was  formed  in 
Leghorn  to  introduce  Protestant  worship  in  French.  This  society 
joined  the   "  Olandese-Alemanna "   congregation    in    1837. 

5  The  Swiss-Italian  Protestant  community  at  Bergamo  was 
founded   in    1807. 

6  The  Protestant  community  of  Rome  was  founded  in  1819  by 
the  great  B.  G.  Niebuhr  and  had  as  pastors,  among  others,  Rothe, 
Tholuck,    Thiele. 

7  The  Protestant  community  of  Genoa  was  founded  in  1824. 

8 Naples  had  a  German  Protestant  church  (attached  to  the 
Prussian  Legation),  inaugurated  about  1824.  Then,  in  1825, 
Adolphe  Monod  commenced  a  French  Protestant  service  in  the 
drawing-room  of  a  family  in  which  he  lived  as  a  tutor.  The 
French  Protestant  community,  however,  was  organised  in  Naples 
only  about  1827. 

•The  Evangelical  Reformed  Church  of  Florence  dates  from 
2d  July,  1826. 

10  The  "Comunita  Svizzero-Alemanna "  of  Milan  dates  from 
1850. 

"Founded  in  1838.  "Opened  in  1860  by  Theod.  Fliedner. 


194     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

on  account  of  the  times,  but  they  kept  the  torch 
of  Christian  testimony  alight  in  days  of  super- 
stition and  darkness.  Bankers,  business  men, 
"  attaches  "  to  the  foreign  Courts,  though  they 
did  not  actually  preach,  still,  by  their  earnest,  act- 
ive, honest,  and  pure  lives,  testified  to  the  truth; 
and,  by  their  straightforward  dealings,  caused  all 
who  came  into  contact  with  them  to  believe  that 
a  religion  able  to  produce  lives  and  characters 
such  as  these,  could  not,  after  all,  be  the  infamous 
thing  which  the  priests  always  asserted  that  it 
was. 

With  regard  to  the  "  Children's  Schools,' '  Giu- 
seppe Montanelli,  Professor  in  the  University  of 
Pisa  and  President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers 
at  the  time  of  Leopold  II,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tus- 
cany, has  left  us  an  amount  of  precious  informa- 
tion.13 He  has  told  us  how  the  liberals  of  1821 
introduced  these  schools  into  Tuscany  for  popular 
education.  During  the  period  following  that  of 
the  "  Giovane  Italia  "  (Young  Italy),  "Chil- 
dren's Schools  "  were  started  which,  persecuted 
by  the  priests  from  their  birth,  had  to  be  con- 
ducted cautiously  and  secretly.  The  promoter 
and  pioneer  of  the  first  of  these  schools,  which 

18  Giuseppe  Montanelli :  Memorie  sulV  Italia  e  specialmente 
sulla  Toscana.     Torino,  1853. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    195 

originated  in  Pisa,  was  Miss  Matilde  Calandrini,  a 
Genevan  lady,  a  descendant  of  one  of  those  Lucca 
families  who,  having  accepted  the  Reformation 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  had  to  go  into  exile.  She 
was  at  Pisa  on  account  of  her  health,  and  thought 
of  founding  there  an  educational  work  on  the  lines 
of  those  of  her  own  fatherland.  She  needed  a 
helper  and  found  one  in  Luigi  Frassi,  a  staunch 
republican  and  liberal  of  1799,  an  old  man  with  a 
young  heart.1*  The  school  could  not  be  opened 
without  a  proper  license ;  and  Frassi,  knowing  too 
well  that  if  he  asked  for  it,  the  authorities  would 
certainly  never  grant  it,  started  the  first  "  Chil- 
dren's School  "  in  his  own  house.  The  police  did 
not  dare  to  violate  the  domicile  of  one  of  the  most 
respected  citizens  of  Pisa;  tolerance  was  inter- 
preted as  a  kind  of  tacit  approval,  and  so  the  bene- 
ficial institutions,  little  by  little  and  almost 
secretly,  were  established  in  Tuscany.  Those  lib- 
erals who  felt  inclined  to  encourage  this  work,  if 
not  with  a  view  of  helping  the  lower  classes  at  any 
rate  to  seize  the  opportunity  it  afforded  them  of 
showing  the  poor  that  they  wanted  to  be  friendly 
and  protect  their  liberties,  formed  a  kind  of 
brotherhood  which  spread  from  Pisa  throughout 

14  Frassi  died  in  1838.  He  had  a  worthy  successor  in  Lorenzo 
Ceramelli,  a  large-hearted  man  of  sound  judgment  and  great 
perseverance.     Frassi's  son  helped  him  greatly. 


196     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

the  rest  of  Tuscany,  and  beyond.  By  means  of 
that  brotherhood  the  members  came  into  contact 
with  Frassi,  Don  Ferrante,  Aporti  of  Cremona, 
Enrico  Mayer  of  Leghorn,  Carlo  Torrigiani  of 
Florence,  Andrea  Buovi  of  Bologna,  Lorenzo 
Valerio  of  Turin,  all  illustrious  men  noted  for 
their  culture  as  well  as  for  their  charity.  And 
here  the  opinion  of  Giuseppe  Montanelli  is  of 
great  value  to  us,  inasmuch  as  it  is  an  independent 
opinion.  "  Ma  tilde  Calandrini,"  he  says,  "  be- 
longed to  that  so-called  Evangelical  communion, 
which,  in  our  times,  is  notable  for  its  religious  fer- 
vour. She  respected  the  religious  convictions  of 
others  and  did  not  take  advantage  of  the  6  Chil- 
dren's Schools  '  to  carry  out  a  Protestant  propa- 
ganda as  the  priests  charged  her  with  doing.  The 
greater  number  of  those  who  were  associated  with 
her  in  trying  their  best  to  educate  the  people,  were1 
men  imbued  with  the  philosophy  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  indifferent  to  religious  matters,  although 
baptised  in  the  Koman  Catholic  Church ;  still,  con- 
tact with  that  earnest,  ardent  Christian  soul  pro- 
duced in  them  the  most  extraordinary  results. 
Miss  Calandrini  was  in  the  habit  of  holding  fam- 
ily worship  regularly  in  the  evening,  which  con- 
sisted of  the  reading  of  the  Bible  and  extempore 
prayer  uttered  from  the  fulness  of  her  heart.    It 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    197 

was  impossible  for  all  those  present  to  listen  to 
the  outpourings  of  such  a  believing  soul  without 
being  moved,  and  without  being  afterwards  com- 
pelled to  reflect.  Many,  later  on,  in  moments  when 
they  were  led  to  feel  their  own  weakness  and  the 
need  of  prayer,  thought  of  those  memorable  even- 
ings, and  were  inflamed  with  religious  fire,  and 
thus  were  brought  from  indifference  to  Christian 
faith.  It  was  in  that  way  that  the  first  Tuscan 
religious  brotherhood  arose  from  the  educational 
brotherhood.  The  first  Tuscan  converts  used  to 
hold  prayer-meetings,  and  were  zealous  in  spread- 
ing the  Holy  Scriptures  translated  into  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people.  Among  those  converts  Count 
Piero  Guicciardini  was  conspicuous;  he  belonged 
to  the  family  of  the  great  Florentine  historian  of 
the  sixteenth  century."  15 


With  the  mention  of  Count  Piero  Guicciardini 
we  come  to  the  real  and  true  Tuscan  evangelical 
revival,  which,  as  we  shall  see,  is  intimately  con- 

15  Giuseppe  Montanelli,  in  his  Memorie  sulV  Italia  e  special- 
mente  sulla  Toscana  (Torino,  1853),  shows  in  the  most  elo- 
quent way  how  the  testimony  faithfully  rendered  to  the  Gospel 
by  men  who  were  not  afraid  of  the  wickedness  of  the  times  did 
not  remain  unfruitful,  and  he  describes  in  pages  of  deep  interest 
the  psychological  condition  of  the  best  men  of  that  wretched 
period.      {Vide  especially  Vol.  I,  pp.  82-89.) 


198     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

nected  with  the  foreign  Protestant  community  of 
Florence  and  with  the  "  Children's  Schools  "  we 
have  already  mentioned. 

After  the  political  movements  of  1833  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany,16  impressed  by  the  miserable 
condition  into  which  public  instruction  had  fallen, 
saw  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  reorganisation. 
He  consulted  Count  Piero  Guicciardini,  who  was 
a  friend  of  his,  and  entrusted  him  with  the  delicate 
task  of  reforming  it.  Guicciardini  began  his  work 
at  once,  and  hearing  about  the  good  and  modest 
work  of  Miss  Calandrini,  he  made  her  acquaint- 
ance, and  received  the  Bible  from  her.  In  that 
Bible  he  found  the  "  pearl  of  great  price."  Not 
all  of  a  sudden  did  he  find  it,  but  after  many  re- 
searches ;  it  was  "  as  the  shining  light  that  shine th 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. ' ' 17    A  Ro- 

18  When  in  1737  the  house  of  the  Medici  died  out  with  Gian 
Gastone,  the  Powers  decided  that  Tuscany  should  be  handed 
over  to  the  house  of  Lorraine.  The  first  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany 
was  Francesco  II,  who  remained  in  Florence  for  four  months 
only,  and  afterwards  went  to  Austria,  leaving  at  the  head  of 
the  State  a  regency  largely  composed  of  Tuscans.  This  regency 
was  followed  by  Leopold  I,  a  true  reformer-prince,  who  came  to 
Florence  in  1765.  In  1789  he  became  Emperor  of  Austria  and 
gave  up  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Tuscany  to  his  brother  Ferdinand 
III,  who  died  in  1824.  Ferdinand  III  was  succeeded  by  Leopold 
II,  who  was  driven  out  on  the  27th  April,  1859,  the  day  when 
the  glorious  Italian  freedom  dawned.  He  was,  however,  most 
courteously  accompanied  to  the  Tuscan  frontier  by  the  Florentines, 
who  there  bade  him  a  none  too  regretful  "  farewell." 

"Proverbs  iv.  18, 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    199 

man  Catholic  priest,  EafTaele  Lambruschini,  a 
very  liberal  man,  was  the  one  to  tell  Guicciardini 
that  there  was  in  the  world  such  a  thing  as  the 
precious  "pearl."  Miss  Calandrini  put  him  in 
possession  of  it;  and  a  simple  cobbler  was  the 
means  of  revealing  to  him  its  great  value.  In  fact, 
even  before  Miss  Calandrini  had  given  him  the 
precious  volume,  one  day,  whilst  Guicciardini  was 
returning  from  an  interview  with  the  Grand  Duke, 
he  met  Lambruschini  in  the  entrance  hall  of  the 
ducal  palace,  and  said  to  him:  "  You  who  know 
all  about  these  things,  will  you,  please,  tell  me 
what  book  of  good,  moral  stories  I  can  choose 
for  the  use  of  the  children  in  my  schools  f  ' '  Lam- 
bruschini cast  a  glance  round  to  make  sure  that 
nobody  could  hear  him,  and:  "  Get  the  Gospel!  " 
he  whispered,  and  hurried  away.  When  Guic- 
ciardini got  the  Gospel  and  began  to  study  it  for 
the  benefit  of  the  children  of  his  schools,  he  felt 
that  it  had  a  personal  message  for  himself :  a  mes- 
sage that  deeply  troubled  his  conscience  and  his 
mind.  One  day,  as  he  was  coming  down  the  stairs 
of  his  palace,  he  noticed  that  his  porter  (who  was 
also  a  cobbler  and  had  his  tool-bench  in  the  lodge) 
was  reading  a  book,  which  he  hastily  hid  under  the 
bench  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  Count.  The  Count, 
moved  by  curiosity,  went  forward  and  insisted  on 


200     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

seeing  the  book.  It  was  a  Bible. — "  Now,  what 
ever  can  you  understand  of  this  book!  "  asked  he. 
— "  I  think  I  understand  something  of  it,"  an- 
swered the  cobbler. — "  Well,"  replied  the  Count, 
"  come  and  let  us  talk  it  over."  That  was  the 
beginning  of  a  long  series  of  conversations,  during 
which  the  Spirit,  by  means  of  this  humble  man 
of  the  people,  opened  the  mind  and  the  heart  of 
the  aristocrat. 

Meanwhile  a  kind  of  selection  was  taking  place. 
Men  like  Montanelli  and  others  who  felt  attracted 
towards  politics  threw  themselves  entirely  into 
the  political  arena.  The  priest  Lambruschini 
withdrew  from  the  evangelical  movement  into  the 
quite  rural  retirement  of  San  Cerbone ; 18  Enrico 
Mayer  gave  himself  to  the  secret  circulation  of 
the  anti-papal  writings  of  Gabriele  Eossetti; 
Stanislao  Binaciardi,  although  in  sympathy  with 
the  movement,  kept  aloof  from  it ;  but  Count  Guic- 
ciardini,  Salvatore  Ferretti  (who,  while  still  a 
priest,  had  received  the  Bible  from  the  Swiss 
Pastor  Emile  Demole),  the  young  advocate  Giu- 
seppe Orselli  and  many  others,  both  men  and 
women,  of  all  social  classes,  including  several  lib- 
eral priests  and  friars,  continued  to  hold  regular 
meetings,  where  they  prayed  and  studied  the  Gos- 

18 Near  Figline   in  Valdarno    (Florence.) 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    201 

pel.  Every  Saturday  evening  Adv.  Tito  Chiesi 
came  from  Pisa  to  Florence;  "  on  business/ '  peo- 
ple said ;  but  it  was  well  known  that  bis  principal 
business  was  to  spread  Bibles  and  Gospels  among 
the  people. 

About  this  time  a  revolution  broke  out  in  Tus- 
cany; and  on  the  17th  February,  1848,  the  people 
obtained  a  Constitution  from  the  Grand  Duke 
Leopold  II.  In  its  first  article,  after  having  pro- 
claimed the  Koman  Catholic  religion  to  be  the  only 
religion  of  the  State,  it  added:  "  all  other  forms 
of  worship  already  established  are,  however,  tol- 
erated. "  Every  convert,  after  that,  began,  more 
energetically  than  ever,  to  do  his  best  to  foster 
the  religious  revival.  The  first  meetings,  ar- 
ranged by  a  Genevan,  C.  Cremieux,  and  Count 
Guicciardini,  were  held  in  Piazza  Sta.  Maria 
Novella  in  the  house  of  Francesco  and  Bosa 
Madiai,  the  Aquila  and  Priscilla  of  the  young 
church.  He  was  a  native  of  Casentino  in  Tuscany, 
and  his  wife  a  Boman.  The  secret  meetings  multi- 
plied; a  record  still  remains  in  Florence  of  those 
held  in  seven  different  houses,  where  the  converts 
met  often,  prayed,  read,  and  explained  the  Word 
of  God,  and  "  broke  bread  ";  and  while  an  Irish- 
man, Admiral  Packenham,  opened  his  house  to  the 
brethren,  a  Genevan  professor,  Theodore  Paul, 


202     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

with  a  boldness  which  ended  in  his  banishment 
from  Tuscany,  distributed  his  own  excellent  re- 
ligious tracts  right  and  left. 

In  1848  four  of  the  best  young  Waldensian 
evangelists,  Bartholomew  Malan,  Frangois  Gay, 
Bartholomew  Tron,  and  J.  Pierre  Meille,  went  to 
Florence  from  the  valleys  to  give  a  greater  im- 
pulse to  the  work.  While  studying  and  acquiring 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Italian  language, 
they  preached  in  the  Swiss  church.  They  were 
allowed  to  do  so  by  the  authorities,  and  in  Italian, 
with  the  understanding,  however,  that  those 
Italian  services  should  only  be  held  for  the  benefit 
of  Swiss  of  the  Grisons,  residing  in  Florence;  but 
other  "  brethren  "  and  "  adherents  "  in  the  city, 
thirsty  for  light  and  truth,  thronged  the  church. 
Admiral  Packenham  generously  busied  himself 
with  the  printing  of  new  editions  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  translation  by  Martini  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, as  well  as  the  Protestant  one  by  Diodati; 
but,  alas,  1849  came,  and  with  it  reaction  broke 
out.  The  Grand  Duke,  pressed  by  Austria  and 
the  Pope,  not  only  revoked  his  Constitution,  but 
set  himself  to  purge  Florence  of  all  heresy.  The 
Admiral  was  arrested,  condemned  on  the  general 
charge  of  attempts  at  proselytism,  and  banished 
from  Tuscany;  3,000  copies  of  Martini's  version 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    203 

of  the  New  Testament,  printed  by  Giovanni 
Benelli,  were  seized  by  the  police,  and  afterwards 
burned  near  the  Arno.  The  printer  Benelli  was 
condemned  to  pay  a  fine  of  50  "  scudi  "  ($58) 
and  costs.  In  spite  of  all  this,  the  Italian  services 
in  the  Swiss  church  continued,  and  so  did  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Scriptures.  In  connection  with 
this  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  two  names  must 
be  here  mentioned  with  feelings  of  special  grati- 
tude: those  of  Dr.  Stewart19  and  the  Rev.  R.  M. 
Hanna,20  the  first  two  ministers  of  the  Scotch 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Leghorn.21  I  am  glad  to 
be  able  to  quote  here  the  words  of  Rev.  J.  Wood 
Brown,  a  son-in-law  of  the  late  Dr.  Stewart,  who 
has  published22  the  memoirs  of  the  saintly  man 

"The  Rev.  Robert  Walter  Stewart,  D.D.,  was  born  in  1812 
in  the  little  rural  manse  of  Bolton  in  Scotland.  On  the  12th 
June,  1845,  he  landed  in  Leghorn,  the  first  missionary  chaplain  of 
the  Scotch  church  established  on  the  Italian  mainland. 

20  The  Rev.  R.  M.  Hanna,  minister  of  Girthon  and  Anwoth, 
was  sent  abroad  and  resided  in  Pisa  on  account  of  his  health. 
During  1847,  his  first  year  there,  he  was  unable  to  undertake 
any  duty;  but  in  the  following  year  he  filled  the  pulpit  in  Leg- 
horn, while  Dr.  Stewart  was  absent  in  Scotland.  Later  on,  the 
Colonial  Committee  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  having  agreed  to 
establish  a  church  in  Florence,  Mr.  Hanna  was  selected  as  its 
first  minister.  There,  "  in  his  own  hired  house,"  on  the  26th 
September,  1849,  he  opened  his  home  to  a  small  congregation  of 
visitors  who  came  to  join  in  Divine  service.  Such  was  the  humble 
beginning  of  the  Scotch  church  in  Florence. 

21  The  Scotch  church  in  Leghorn  was  opened  in  1849. 

82  Rev.  J.  Wood  Brown,  M.A.:   An  Italian   Campaign. 


204     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

of  God:  "  Leghorn,  as  the  port  of  Tuscany,  was 
charged  with  the  duty  of  introducing  Bibles  into 
the  country.  Florence,  central  among  the  scat- 
tered groups  of  converts,  presided  over  the  dis- 
tribution of  these  books.  Even  the  details  of  such 
a  traffic  are  interesting,  and  we  may  find  in  them 
a  vivid  picture  of  times  and  scenes  that  have 
passed  away,  let  us  hope  for  ever.  The  Bibles  or 
other  books,  packed  in  bales  like  ordinary  mer- 
chandise, were  addressed  as  '  stationery  '  to  the 
Messrs.  Henderson  in  Leghorn.  They  remained 
stored  in  the  office  of  that  firm,  or  in  Mr.  Bruce 's 
house,23  until,  in  small  parcels  or  as  single  volumes, 
they  could  be  gradually  conveyed  in  the  pockets 
of  private  passengers  to  Florence.  As  may  be 
supposed,  the  Leghorn  custom-house  was  a  great 
hindrance  to  this  traffic;  and  all  kinds  and  some- 
times curious  means  were  used  to  evade  its  re- 
strictions. .  .  .  Many  were  the  willing  hands 
which  helped  in  this  work,  and  not  a  few  godly 
women  were  of  the  greatest  service  in  the  way  of 

23  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Bruce  came  out  to  Leghorn  on  account  of  his 
health,  in  1846  or  '47.  When  he  got  better,  he  opened  an  Eng- 
lish school  for  boys.  After  some  years  the  school  was  closed 
by  the  Grand-ducal  authorities,  and  then  Mr.  Bruce  occupied  him- 
self in  teaching  until  1861,  when  he  was  appointed  Agent  for 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  He  was  an  elder  of  the 
Scotch  church  in  Leghorn,  an  earnest  Christian,  and  ever  fore- 
most in  all  good  works.    He  died  in  1881. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    205 

conveying  the  books  from  Leghorn  to  Florence 
by  rail.  .  .  .  The  superintendence  of  what  was 
done  naturally  remained  in  the  hands  of  Dr. 
Stewart  and  Mr.  Hanna.  Theirs  it  was  to  ar- 
range and  counsel  and  direct  a  lively  correspond- 
ence— carried  on  for  the  sake  of  security  in  a 
kind  of  jargon — passed  constantly  by  private 
hand  during  these  years  of  oppression  between 
the  house  at  Leghorn  and  the  Scotch  minister's 
lodging  at  Florence.  In  these  letters  Dr.  Stewart 
is  addressed  as  Br.  Erskine;  Mr.  Hanna  as  Sir 
Girthon  Anwoth,  and  Bibles  are  alluded  to  as 
incorruptible  seed." 

Under  the  protection  of  the  Swiss  church  a 
strong  nucleus  of  believers  was  formed,  anxious 
to  be  properly  organised.  The  four  young  Wal- 
densian  ministers  had  gone  back  to  their  country, 
but  had  left  a  lasting  impression  in  Florence ;  so 
much  so  that,  in  June,  1850,  Adv.  Tito  Chiesi, 
with  the  full  approval  of  Count  Guicciardini  and 
in  the  name  of  many  brethren,  went  up  to  Torre 
Pellice  to  ask  the  Waldenses  for  an  evangelist. 
Signor  B.  Malan,  one  of  the  original  four,  was 
sent  and  was  soon  followed  by  Signor  Paolo  Gey- 
monat.  The  two  evangelists  set  themselves  to 
work,  confirming  the  brethren,  and  announcing 
the  Gospel  to  all.    But  the  police  were  not  asleep. 


206     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Every  day  they  redoubled  their  vigilance  and 
severity ;  and  as  the  number  of  Tuscans  who  were 
interested  in  the  Gospel  preached  in  the  Swiss 
church  was  growing  daily,  the  authorities,  pressed 
by  the  priests,  sent  spies  to  see  and  report.  On 
the  three  Sundays,  19th,  26th  January  and  2d  Feb- 
ruary, 1851,  men  sent  by  the  police  went  to  the 
services  and  took  note  of  those  who  were  present. 
A  great  many  of  them  were  afterwards  called  up 
and  examined;  about  120  were  forbidden  to  at- 
tend the  services  again,  under  threat  of  from 
eight  to  sixty  days'  imprisonment.  The  Govern- 
ment had  recourse  to  Mr.  De  Eeumont,  attache 
of  the  Prussian  Legation  at  Eome,  who,  after  a 
short  correspondence  with  the  Consistory  of  the 
Swiss  church  in  Florence,  obliged  it  to  give  up  the 
Italian  service.  In  this  way  many  people  were 
deprived  of  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  Word 
of  God.  Private  house-to-house  meetings  then 
became  more  intense,  more  zealous;  but  the  vigi- 
lant eyes  of  the  police,  alas,  soon  found  them  out. 
And  here  begins  the  story  of  the  stormy  year 
1851.  In  the  month  of  March  the  Pastor  Paul  Gey- 
monat  was  arrested  at  a  meeting,  imprisoned  for 
a  short  time,  and  removed  from  Tuscany,  chained 
to  a  felon.  Pastor  Malan  also  was  expelled  from 
Tuscany  and,  by  a  miracle,  saved  himself  from 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    207 
being  cast  into  prison.     On  the  7th  May  Count 
Guicciardini  and  six  others  24  were  arrested  in  the 
house  of  Fedele  Betti,  and  a  few  days  after  con- 
demned   to    six    months '   imprisonment.     Their 
crime  consisted  in  sitting  round  a  table  and  read- 
ing the  15th  Chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel  in  Dio- 
dati's  version.    When  they  arrived  at  the  prison 
of  the  Bargello,  where  they  were  taken  after 
arrest,  Count  Guicciardini,  taking  a  small  Testa- 
ment from  an  inner  pocket,  which  the  police  had 
not  been  able  to  find  when  they  searched  him,  said 
in  the  most  natural  way,  addressing  his  com- 
panions: <  And  now,  brethren,  let  us  resume  our 
meditation."    So  they  did,  and  no  little  comfort 
did  they  derive  from  it.    I  cannot  help  thinking  that 
in  that  solemn  moment  Count  Piero  Guicciardini 
completely  obliterated  the  stain  with  which  Ms 
illustrious  ancestor,  the  Florentine  historian,  had 
soiled  their  great  name  when,  with  an  egoism  that 
seemed  almost  cynical,  he  wrote  the  words  I  have 
already  quoted  in  the  second  chapter:  "  I  do  not 
know  if  there  be  a  man  more  disgusted  than  I  am 
with  the  ambition,  avarice,  and  effeminacy  of  the 
priests.   .    .    .   Nevertheless,  my  position  at  the 
Court  of  several  Popes  has  made  it  necessary  for 

24  Count  Piero  Guicciardini,  Cesare  Magrini,  Angiolo  Guarducci, 
Carlo  Solaini,  Sabatino  Borsieri,  Giuseppe  Guerra,  and  Fedele 
Betti. 


208     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

me,  in  view  of  my  own  private  interests,  to  love 
their  greatness ;  had  it  not  been  for  that  reason,  I 
should  have  loved  Martin  Luther  dearly."  25 

The  sentence  on  the  Count  and  his  friends  was 
afterwards  commuted  to  exile  from  Tuscany,  and 
only  twenty-four  hours  were  allowed  them  to  pre- 
pare for  their  departure  from  Tuscan  territory. 
On  the  17th  August,  the  police  made  a  search  in 
the  house  of  Francesco  Madiai,  where  they  found 
two  copies  of  Diodati's  version  of  the  Bible.  At 
the  same  time  they  arrested  Francesco  Madiai, 
Mr.  Arthur  Walker,  Francesco  Mannelli,  and 
Alessandro  Fantoni,  and  conducted  them  at  once 
to  prison.  Mr.  Walker  was  released  on  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  British  Minister ;  but,  on  the  day 
following,  Eosa,  wife  of  Francesco  Madiai,  was 
arrested  and  imprisoned.  Francesco  Mannelli 
and  Alessandro  Fantoni,  after  eight  days'  im- 
prisonment, were  condemned  to  exile  from  Tus- 
cany, on  the  charge  of  being  accomplices  of  the 
Madiai,  who  stood  accused  of  impiety  by  prosely- 
tising. The  two  Madiai  remained  in  prison  till 
the  27th  June  of  the  following  year,  when  they 
were  condemned:  the  husband  to  four  years  and 
eight  months'  hard  labour  in  the  fortress  of  Vol- 

28  Francesco  Guicciardini.  Opere  inedite,  Ricordo  28.  Vide 
also  Ric.  236  and  346. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    209 

terra ;  the  wife  to  three  years  and  nine  months  of 
"  reclusion  "  in  the  prison  of  Lucca.  The  Madiai 
were  finally  released  after  their  case  had  been 
taken  up  by  all  the  Protestant  States  of  Europe. 
I  could  continue  for  a  long  time  the  sad  tale  of 
arrests,  heavy  sentences,  and  iniquitous  imprison- 
ments ; 26  but  time  fails  me,  and  my  aim  here  is  not 

28  "On  the  night  of  the  16th  November,  1851,  the  house  of 
Damiano  Bolognini  was  searched  by  the  police,  and  several  copies 
of  d'AubignS's  History  of  the  Reformation  and  of  Count  Guic- 
ciardini's  Confession  and  Narrative  discovered.  Bolognini,  having 
heard  this  in  his  absence  at  the  time  from  his  own  house,  saved 
himself  by  flight,  and  went  into  voluntary  exile. 

"  About  the  same  time,  search  was  made  for  Angelo  Calaman- 
drei,  suspected  of  circulating  evangelical  tracts  at  the  instance 
of  parties  concerned  in  the  Protestant  Propaganda.  Calaman- 
drei,  having  remained  several  days  in  hiding,  succeeded  in  escap- 
ing from  Tuscany. 

"  Towards  the  close  of  the  same  year,  1851,  Stefano  Benelli,  of 
Florence,  was  arrested  on  suspicion  of  being  concerned  in  the 
Protestant  movement.  A  number  of  Protestant  books,  tracts,  and 
Bibles  having  been  found  in  a  room  belonging  to  him,  but  used 
by  other  parties,  Benelli  was  condemned  to  three  months'  im- 
prisonment,  and   the   books   were   seized   by   the    police. 

"  On  the  20th  of  January,  1852,  Daniele  Mazzinghi  and  Gaetano 
Carini  were  arrested  on  suspicion  of  having  encouraged  an  in- 
valid to  refuse  the  sacrament  at  the  hands  of  a  priest.  Carini, 
not  a  Tuscan  by  birth,  was  banished  from  the  Grand  Duchy,  and 
Mazzinghi  was  condemned  to  six  months'  imprisonment  in  the 
fortress  at  Volterra,  whither  he  was  conducted  in  chains;  but  in 
a  short  time  the  sentence  was  commuted  into  exile  from  Tuscany. 

"In  the  month  of  November,  1852,  the  police  made  a  per- 
quisition in  the  house  of  Angelo  Guarducci,  formerly  compro- 
mised in  the  arrest  of  Count  Guicciardini.  A  Bible  and  a  few 
tracts  having  been  found,  Guarducci  was  arrested,  and  im- 
prisoned in  Florence,  where  he  was  kept  for  about  ten  months. 


210     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

to  write  a  minute  and  complete  chronicle  of  the 
evangelical  mission  in  that  heroic  age.  Still,  I 
must  not  forget  the  names  of  three  gallant  Eng- 
lish ladies,  Miss  Johnson,  Miss  Weston,  and  Miss 
Brown,  ardent  propagandists,  who,  when  molested 
by  the  police,  had  to  flee  for  a  while  from  Florence, 
only  to  return  and  distribute  with  unparalleled 
courage  copies  of  the  Scriptures  and  religious 
tracts;  of  Dr.  Luigi  Desanctis,  the  rector  of  the 

As  nothing  could  be  proved  against  him,  he  was  not  brought 
to  trial;  but  simply  kept  in  prison  on  suspicion.  Finally,  he 
obtained  permission  to  leave  Tuscany,  and  went  into  exile. 

"In  the  month  of  January,  1853,  Carlo  Carrana,  of  Florence, 
was  condemned  to  two  years'  imprisonment  in  Florence,  for 
holding  opinions  contrary  to  the  religion  of  the  State,  and  also 
on  suspicion  of  sympathising  with  political  parties  opposed  to 
the  Government. 

"  In  the  month  of  August,  1853,  there  was  a  perquisition  in 
the  house  of  Natale  Lippi,  baker,  of  Florence;  and  several  copies 
of  Diodati's  version  of  the  Bible  and  a  few  religious  tracts  hav- 
ing been  found  in  the  house,  Lippi,  along  with  his  son-in-law, 
and  Alessandro  Barli,  also  of  Florence,  was  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned. After  fifteen  days,  Lippi's  two  companions  were  re- 
leased; but  he  himself  was  condemned  to  three  months'  im- 
prisonment, on  the  ground  that  he  had  been  overheard  by  his 
neighbours  reading  the  Bible  in  his  own  house,  and  that  sundry 
persons  had  been  present  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  him  read. 

"  Giovanni  Ruggero,  of  San  Piero  in  Bagno,  was  arrested 
in  the  month  of  April,  I  believe,  and  afterwards  conducted  to 
the  public  prison  in  Florence.  After  eight  months'  imprison- 
ment, he  was  tried  and  acquitted;  the  Royal  Court  of  Florence, 
before  which  he  was  tried,  holding,  however,  that  the  long  im- 
prisonment already  suffered  before  the  trial  was  well  deserved, 
as  the  accused  had  spoken  in  private  conversation  against  con- 
fession  and   the  worship   of   the   Virgin. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    211 

Maddalena  in  Eome,  who  had  been  converted  to 
Christ  and  had  already  preached  the  Gospel  in 
1848  in  the  Swiss  church  in  Florence  and  in  the 
Scotch  church  at  Leghorn  "  in  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  and  of  power  ";  of  Adv.  Bona- 
ventura  Mazzarella  of  Gallipoli  in  Calabria, 
a  political  exile  of  1848,  who  got  a  Bible  from  the 
Waldensian  church  and  by  means  of  it  spiritual 
freedom  in  Christ;  of  the  Albarellas  d'Afflitto, 

"In  the  month  of  November,  1853,  Pietro  Baldi  and  Michele 
Manzuoli,  of  Sesto,  were  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison,  on  the 
charge  of  impiety  by  means  of  proselytism.  They  were  con- 
demned by  the  Royal  Court  of  Florence  to  ten  months'  im- 
prisonment in  the  House  of  Correction,  besides  undergoing  three 
months'  imprisonment  before  their  trial. 

"  Giovanni  Gimignani,  of  Leghorn,  trunk-maker.  In  the  spring 
of  1853,  he  was  accused  to  the  Government  of  being  guilty 
of  propagandism,  by  reading  the  Word  of  God  and  other  Protes- 
tant books  to  his  wife  and  only  son,  a  lad  of  fifteen  years  of  age. 
A  woman  living  on  the  same  landing  with  them,  acted  as  spy — 
listened  at  the  door  to  hear  what  was  read — and  made  this  known 
to  the  priest  at  confession. 

"In  the  month  of  October,  1854,  Eusebio  Massei,  of  Ponte- 
dera,  was  arrested  and  condemned  by  the  Prefecture  at  Pisa  to  a 
year's  imprisonment  at  Imbrogiana,  for  having  expressed  opinions 
contrary  to  the  Romish  Church,  and  for  having  spoken  disre- 
spectfully of  the  Supreme  Pontiff  and  the  priests  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion. 

"  On  the  25th  of  March,  1855,  Domenico  Cecchetti,  of  Florence, 
was  arrested  and  condemned  to  a  year's  imprisonment  at  Im- 
brogiana, for  having  failed  to  instruct  his  children  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion;  and  also  for  holding  Protestant  opin- 
ions, and  reading  the  Bible  with  his  family.  After  nearly  four 
months  of  imprisonment,  on  the  representation  of  the  British 
Minister,  the  sentence  was  commuted  into  exile. 


212     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

southern  Italians,  men  of  great  minds  and  large 
hearts,  to  whom  the  evangelical  work  in  those  early 
times  was  immensely  indebted;  and  finally  let  me 
not  forget  the  beloved  name  of  Mr.  John  Lenox 
of  New  York,  the  constant  and  munificent  sup- 
porter of  the  evangelical  cause  in  Italy  from  its 
very  beginning. 

The  work  was  progressing;  the  fire  of  persecu- 
tion did  not  check  it,  but  purified,  sanctified,  in- 
tensified it ;  and,  as  in  the  days  of  the  persecution 
in  Jerusalem,  the  exiles  carried  everywhere  the 
incorruptible  seed  of  the  Word  of  God;  which, 
being  sown  by  some  and  watered  by  others,  God 
caused  to  increase  in  a  marvellous  way.  I  have 
spoken  especially  of  Florence,  for,  as  I  have 
pointed  out,  Florence  was  the  cradle  of  the  Italian 
religious  revival ;  but  in  all  Tuscany,  in  Leghorn, 
Pisa,  Prato,  Pistoia,  Bagni  di  Lucca  especially, 
the  Gospel  had  free  course  and  was  glorified  by 
men  and  women  who  accepted  it  as  "  the  power 

"About  the  month  of  May,  1855,  Giovanni  Ruggero,  of  San 
Piero  in  Bagno,  was  found  in  a  grove  with  a  friend  reading  the 
Bible.  Ruggero,  having  been  compromised  in  a  former  trial  (as 
already  stated),  was  at  once  arrested  and  along  with  his  friend 
cast  into  prison. 

"  In  the  month  of  September,  1855,  a  trial  was  begun  at  Pisa 
against  sundry  persons  in  Pontedera  accused  of  holding  evan- 
gelical opinions.  No  fewer  than  sixteen  individuals  were  im- 
plicated." (Quoted  from  Rev.  J.  Wood  Brown:  An  Italian  Cam- 
paign— Appendix. ) 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    213 

of  God  unto    salvation  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth.,,27 

Many  of  the  Tuscan  exiles  took  refuge  in 
Piedmont,  where  they  formed  many  groups 
and  held  meetings  everywhere,  which  were  al- 
ways crowded,  inspired,  and  inspiring.  After 
the  stormy  political  events  of  1848-1849,  the 
whole  of  Piedmont  was  filled  with  refugees;  an 
extraordinary  number  of  Neapolitans,  Tuscans, 
Lombards,  and  Venetians,  persecuted  by  the  police 
for  political  reasons,  took  the  way  of  exile,  and 
chose  Turin  as  their  shelter.  There  they  fre- 
quented the  evangelical  meetings  regularly,  and 
a  great  many  of  them  waited  with  longing  for  the 
political  redemption  of  Italy  in  order  to  be  able 
to  go  back  to  their  native  places,  bearers  of  the 
Gospel  of  salvation  to  their  relations,  friends,  and 
fellow-citizens.  In  Turin,  Pinerolo,  Genoa,  Novi, 
Alessandria,  Nice,  Casale,  Sampierdarena,  No- 
vara,  and  in  other  centres,  souls  answered  with 
great  alacrity  to  the  appeal  for  God's  grace  and 
were  converted  to  Christ.  No  preoccupation  about 
church  organisation  had  yet  risen  to  trouble  minds 
and  hearts ;  the  only  great  preoccupation  of  all  in 
those  days  was  the  triumph  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.     The  descendants  of  the  old  heroes  came 

"Romans  i.   16. 


214  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
down  from  among  the  rocks  of  the  Waldensian 
valleys  to  Turin,  Genoa,  and  Tuscany,  and  asso- 
ciated themselves  with  the  young  brethren,  whom 
the  Word  of  God  had  converted  almost  without 
human  instrumentality;  all  fraternised,  all  were 
"  of  one  accord.' '  Suddenly  the  preoccupation 
about  church  organisation  arose;  it  quickly  pre- 
pared the  ground  for  discord,  and  in  1854  dis- 
agreement broke  out  simultaneously  in  Turin  and 
in  Genoa,  where,  for  the  first  time,  the  evangelical 
churches,  as  they  had  simply  and  beautifully 
called  themselves  up  to  that  date,  were  divided 
into  two  branches:  the  Waldensian  churches  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  Free  Italian  churches 28  on 
the  other. 

For  the  present,  I  shall  say  nothing  more  about 
this  schism.  I  prefer  to  take  a  retrospective  view 
of  the  events  which  I  have  already  narrated,  re- 
call to  mind  the  memories  of  those  I  have  not  had 
time  to  mention,  visit  in  spirit  the  hundreds  and 
hundreds  of  places  which  it  has  been  impossible 
for  me  even  to  speak  of,  and  rejoice  in  the  mar- 
vellous vision  of  this  beautiful  part  of  the  field 
of  God  during  these  heroic  times  to  which  I  have 

28  In  a  letter  from  B.  Mazzarella,  dated  28th  February,  1857,  we 
read:  "Our  brethren  .  .  .  have  been  sent  by  the  Free  Evan- 
gelical Church  of  Genoa." 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    215 

tried  to  transport  you.  There  is  scarcely  a  village 
in  Tuscany  without  some  trace  of  those  glorious 
days.  When  walking  through  the  streets  of  the 
old  part  of  Florence  I  pass  some  of  those  houses 
where  the  police  of  the  Grand  Duke  used  to  dog 
all  who  met  there  in  great  secrecy,  as  if  to  per- 
petrate a  crime,  the  feelings  that  are  aroused  in 
me  cannot  be  described.  When  I  walk  along  our 
Florentine  Lungarni,  I  see  again  in  spirit  the 
mysterious  boats  in  which  men  used  to  gather  to 
pray  and  read  the  Gospel,  right  in  the  middle  of 
the  river  where  the  police  would  not  surprise  them 
so  easily.  And  up  at  Fiesole,  from  the  depths  of 
the  quarries  of  Monte  Ceceri,  some  of  which  look 
like  the  ruins  of  old  Egyptian  temples,  I  seem  to 
hear  the  distant  echo  of  the  hymns  sung  by  the 
brethren  who  used  to  meet  there,  far  from  the 
din  of  the  world  and  the  ambushes  of  the  Grand 
Ducal  police.  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  know 
some  of  those  men  and  women,  the  remnant  of 
an  old  army  of  Christian  heroes;  and  many  a 
time  have  I  seen  their  eyes  fill  with  tears  while  they 
told  me  the  old  story  of  their  arrest,  imprison- 
ment, or  banishment ;  and  when  I  have  heard  them 
lament  the  lukewarmness  of  Christian  faith  in 
these  times  of  ours  which  are  so  rich  in  religious 
freedom,  and  almost  regret  the  times  in  which  per- 


216     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

secution  kindled  the  faith,  hope,  and  love  of  the 
Church,  I  have  been  more  than  ever  persuaded  that 
political  freedom  is  without  doubt  a  great  gift; 
but  if  instead  of  being  taken  as  a  means  to  obtain 
the  glorious  freedom  of  the  spirit  it  is  taken  as 
an  end  in  itself,  it  may  become  an  awful  danger 
and  a  source  of  terrible  evil.  Every  gift  of  God 
implies  some  responsibility  in  those  who  receive 
it;  and  the  greater  the  gift,  the  greater  the  re- 
sponsibility. 


Having  arrived  at  this  point,  we  must  now  go 
back  to  the  Waldensian  church.  The  nineteenth 
century  dawned  gloomily  in  the  Waldensian  val- 
leys. A  gust  of  unbelief  blowing  from  France  had 
invaded  all  the  valleys,  which  were  slumbering  in 
formalism,  in  enervating  religious  indifference, 
and  in  squalid  poverty.  But  God,  who  in  the  past 
had  so  miraculously  led  His  people,  was  certainly 
not  going  to  abandon  them  now.  He  raised  up 
four  men  who,  in  His  hands,  were  the  salvation 
of  the  Israel  of  the  Alps.  They  were :  Felix  NefT, 
Frederic  de  Waldburg-Truchess,  Canon  Wil- 
liam Stephen  Gilly,  and  General  Charles  Beck- 
with. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    217 

Felix  Neff,29  a  mighty  man  of  God,  who  brought 
new  life  into  the  population  on  the  French  side  of 
the  Alps,  crossed  over  to  the  Waldensian  valleys 
in  1825.  He  exhorted  the  people  to  repent  and 
to  believe  as  their  fathers  had  done,  and  was  the 
means  of  a  deep  and  lasting  religious  revival 
among  them.  Frederic  de  Waldburg-Truchess, 
the  Prussian  ambassador  at  Turin  between  1816 
and  1844,  was  used  by  God  to  protect  the  Wal- 
denses  from  the  legal  and  illegal  inhumanities  of 
the  Court  and  clergy,  and  the  ambassador  did  his 
work  with  zeal  and  fidelity.  With  the  help  of  his 
Sovereign,  he  was  able  to  establish  a  regular 
Protestant  religious  service,  conducted  by  Wal- 
densian pastors,  in  his  own  palace  in  Rome.  The 
Anglican  Canon  W.  S.  Gilly  30  began  to  take  an 
interest  in  the  Waldensian  church  by  hearing  the 
reading  of  a  letter  in  a  London  missionary  society, 
written  by  Ferdinand  Peyran,  a  much  beloved  pas- 
tor of  Pramol  in  the  valleys.  Canon  Gilly  left  at 
once  for  Italy  and  visited  the  old  historical  church 
for  the  first  time  in  1823.  To  him,  who  took  a 
special  interest  in  the  classical  education  of  the 

w  Felix  Neff  was  born  in  Geneva  in  1797  and  died  there  in  1829. 

80  Canon  W.  S.  Gilly  died  in  England  on  the  10th  September, 
1855.  To  his  very  last  he  had  deeply  at  heart  the  spiritual  and 
material  welfare  of  the  Waldensian  people. 


218     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

young  and  in  the  preparation  of  future  ministers, 
are  due  the  foundation  and  the  building  of  the  Col- 
lege at  Torre  Pellice  and  the  foundation  of  a 
library  there,  which  contains  at  present  23,000 
volumes.  Charles  Beckwith31  was  a  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  British  army  who,  on  the  18th  June, 
1815,  at  the  close  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo, 
lost  a  leg  through  a  cannon  shot.  During  his 
forced  inactivity  the  young  officer  was  led  to  think 
of  the  supreme  interests  of  his  soul.  Having  casu- 
ally come  across  the  first  book  published  by  Canon 
Gilly  on  the  Waldenses,  Beckwith  was  so  im- 
pressed that,  in  the  autumn  of  1827,  he  started 
for  the  valleys,  which  were  to  become  for  him  a 
second  fatherland.  He  fostered  elementary  edu- 
cation there  and  founded  schools  in  all  the  so- 
called  "  Quartieri  "  (Quarters)  of  the  valleys.  To 
him  and  to  his  friends  whom  he  succeeded  in  in- 
teresting in  the  work,  the  Waldenses  owe  the  neat 
buildings  well  known  as  "  Beckwith  Schools,"  and 
the  fund  for  the  stipend  of  the  teachers.  General 
Beckwith  took  a  keen  interest  in  every  Walden- 
sian  work  connected  either  with  the  education  of 
youth,  the  different  parishes,  or  with  the  mission 

81  General  Charles  Beckwith  was  born  at  Halifax,  in  Nova 
Scotia,  on  the  2d  October,  1789.  In  the  Waldensian  valleys, 
where  he  settled  down,  he  married  Miss  Caroline  Vola  of  San 
Giovanni,  and  died  at  Torre  Pellice  on  the  19th  July,  1862. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    219 

in  the  rest  of  Italy.  His  memory  is  and  always 
will  be  greatly  blessed  in  the  heart  of  the  Walden- 
sian  people. 

About  the  middle  of  the  century,  God  assured 
freedom  of  conscience  to  the  Waldensian  church. 
In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  related  the  events 
connected  with  the  Edict  of  Emancipation  of  17th 
February,  1848. 

On  the  4th  February,  1851,  a  meeting  of  Wal- 
densian pastors  was  held  in  the  college  at  Torre 
Pellice  to  consider,  among  others,  the  following 
problem:  "  What  is  now  the  mission  of  the  Wal- 
densian church  since  the  Edict  has  been  granted? 
Has  she  or  not  a  mission  to  fulfil?  "  The  answer 
was  clear:  "  The  mission  of  the  Waldensian 
church  is  to  evangelise  Italy,  and  this  is  to  be 
held  as  '  a  sacred  and  holy  duty.'  "  And  as  the 
Waldenses  had  already  gone  down  into  Tuscany 
for  evangelistic  purposes,  thus  almost  anticipating 
the  result  of  the  meeting,  so,  in  order  to  give  a 
new  impulse  to  their  missionary  work,  the  first 
stone  of  the  beautiful  church  in  Turin  was  laid 
nine  months  later.32 

The  handful  of  heroes,  survivors  of  so  many 
persecutions,  whom  God  brought  back  from  exile 
to  their  own  country,  has  now  become  a  people 

82  29th  October,  1851. 


220     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

numbering  12,160  communicants,  under  the  spirit- 
ual care  of  18  pastors  in  the  17  old  parishes  in 
the  valleys.  Outside  the  valleys,  from  Turin  down 
to  the  furthest  limit  of  Sicily,  the  Waldensian 
church  has  42  churches,  203  missionary  stations, 
6,603  communicants,  about  40,000  adherents,  136 
workers,  of  whom  52  are  regularly  ordained  minis- 
ters, 2,192  scholars  in  the  day  schools  and  3,140 
in  the  Sunday  schools.  She  has  a  Faculty  of 
Divinity,  a  College  for  Classical  Studies  recog- 
nised by  the  Government,  2  charitable  educational 
institutions,  a  theological  review  (La  Rivista 
Cristiana),  and  an  evangelistic  weekly  paper,  La 
Luce  (The  Light). 

In  1883  the  first  Waldensian  missionary  started 
for  South  Africa.83  Later  on  others  followed 
him,  directing  their  steps  towards  the  land  of  the 
Ba-Sutos  and  towards  the  inhospitable  banks  of 
the  Upper  Zambesi,  where  to-day  seven  Walden- 
sian missionaries,  connected  with  the  "  Societe 
des  Missions  "  of  Paris,  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
Ba-Eotse  and  to  the  thirty  barbarous  tribes  subject 
to  them.  And  the  name  "  Waldensian,' '  herald  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ,  is  honoured  and  blessed  in 
several   prosperous   colonies:    in   Wiirtemberg,34 

M  Rev.  Giacomo  Weitzecker. 

"They  were  founded  in  1699  by  the  Waldenses  who  had  been 
exiled  from  their  country  by  the  edict  of  1st  July,  1698. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    221 

in  South  America,35  at  Monett  in  Missouri,36  in 
North  Carolina,37  and  among  the  fluctuating  but 
numerous  centres  of  Waldensian  emigrants  in 
North  America,  and  in  France:  Nice,  Marseilles, 
Toulon,  and  Lyons.38 

Having  spoken  of  the  Waldensian  church,  let 
me  mention  also  the  sister  churches  which  work 
so  valiantly  in  the  beautiful  and  attractive  Italian 
field,  together  with  her. 

The  evangelical  movement,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  began  in  Tuscany  at  a  time  of  fiery  per- 
secution, was  not  unfruitful,  but  continued  its 
great  and  beneficial  work,  and  developed  into  two 
branches. 

The  first  kept  itself  absolutely  independent  of 
any  church  organisation,  and  held  meetings  with 
presiding  elders,  acknowledging  as  legitimate  the 
free  exercise  of  the  special  gifts  imparted  by  the 
Spirit  to  the  brethren.  This  branch  has  to  this 
day  strictly  retained  its  peculiar  stamp,  which  is 


86  Founded  in  1856.  To-day  the  Waldensian  colonies  in  South 
America  number  7  parishes  (Colonia  Valdense,  Cosmopolita- 
Artilleros,  Belgrano,  Lavalla,  San  Salvador,  Tarariras-Riachuelo, 
Iris),  with  a  total  of  6  pastors,  2,172  communicants,  and  a 
Waldensian  population  of  5,956  souls. 

38  Founded  by  Pastor  Salmon  and  composed  of  about  thirty 
families. 

"Founded  in  1893. 

88  In  Marseilles  alone  there  are  about  2,000  Waldenses. 


222     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

evidently  of  the  "  Plymouth  brethren  "  type.39 
The  second  branch  of  the  movement  was  formed 
of  a  nucleus  of  churches  called  simply  Evangel- 
ical churches;  in  1865  they  organised  themselves 
into  one  ecclesiastical  body  and  held  their  first 
General  Assembly  at  Bologna,  when  they  assumed 
the  name  of  Free  Italian  Church;  in  1876  they 
formulated  their  own  Confession  of  Faith,  and 
in  1899  took  the  name  of  the  Evangelical  Church 
of  Italy.  In  1905  this  "  Evangelical  Church  of 
Italy  "  handed  over  some  of  her  churches  and 
some  of  her  workers  to  the  two  branches  of  the 
Methodist  mission,  so  that  now  she  is  reduced  to 
only  two  churches:  one  in  Florence  and  one  in 
Eome,  both  of  which  have  day  and  Sunday  schools 
and  carry  on  mission  work  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
two  cities. 

About  the  end  of  1861  the  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Church  began  to  work  in  Italy.  In  1872  she 
divided  her  work  into  two  districts:  north  and 
south ;  but  in  1902  the  whole  mission  was  reunited 
under  one  superintendent.40 

89  This  first  branch  of  the  evangelical  movement  in  Italy  has 
churches  in  about  20  towns,  and  in  about  68  smaller  places  in 
the   Peninsula. 

40  The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  numbers:  37  churches  and 
a  good  number  of  mission  stations,  2,335  communicants,  40  min- 
isters, 802  scholars  in  day  schools,  and  1,493  scholars  in  Sunday 
schools. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    223 

In  1866  the  Anglo-Italian  branch  of  the  Baptist 
mission,  which  is  now  divided  into  three  districts 
(North,  Tuscan,  and  Central),41  started  its  work; 
and  in  1870  it  was  followed  by  the  American- 
Italian  branch  of  the  same  mission.42  In  1884  the 
two  Baptist  missions  united  and  formed  the 
"  Christian  Apostolic  Baptist  Union.' ' 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  1870,  de- 
cided to  extend  her  missionary  activity  to  Italy. 
In  September,  1874,  she  held  her  first  District  Con- 
ference at  Bologna,  and  in  March,  1881,  the  Italian 
mission  was  regularly  constituted  at  the  Annual 
Conference.43 

In  1890  the  Salvation  Army  began  to  unfurl  her 
banner  in  Northern  Italy.44 

Besides  all  these  missionary  efforts,  which  time 

"The  Anglo- Italian  branch  of  the  Baptist  Mission  numbers:  56 
churches  and  mission  stations,  663  communicants,  20  ministers, 
886   scholars   in   Sunday  schools. 

42  The  American-Italian  branch  of  the  Baptist  Mission  num- 
bers: 35  churches,  96  stations,  1,017  communicants,  40  pastors, 
120  scholars  in  day  schools,  947  scholars  in  Sunday  schools,  1 
theological   faculty,   1   theological  review — Bilychnis. 

"The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  numbers:  46  churches  with 
12  "  diasporas "  connected  with  them,  3,000  communicants,  45 
ministers,  30  local  preachers,  2,300  scholars  in  Sunday  schools,  2 
flourishing  educational  institutions  in  Rome  and  1  in  Venice,  1 
theological  school,  1  evangelistic  weekly  paper — L'Evangelista 
("The  Evangelist"). 

44  The  Salvation  Army  began  its  work  in  Italy  in  1890  at  San 
Giovanni  in  the  Waldensian  valleys.  It  is  now  working  in  23  dif- 
ferent centres  and  has  377  workers  (officers  and  soldiers)  in  the 


224    The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

fails  me  to  speak  of  as  amply  as  they  deserve,  I 
must  limit  myself  simply  to  making  mention  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,45  the  National 
Bible  Society  of  Scotland,46  the  Eeligious  Tract 
Society  for  Italy,47  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,48  the  Young  Women's  Christian  As- 
sociation,49 the   Italian   Sunday  School  Union,50 

field.  In  May,  1907,  the  Salvation  Army  opened  a  "Rescue 
Home"  in  Milan  (Villa  Speranza).  Since  the  date  of  its  founda- 
tion, it  has  given  shelter  and  offered  moral  and  spiritual  salva- 
tion to   142  girls. 

"The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  began  its  work  in 
Italy  as  early  as  1809,  when  500  Italian  New  Testaments  were 
sent  into  the  country  from  Malta.  In  the  year  1817  the  Society 
printed  an  edition  of  5,000  Testaments  in  Naples,  and  in  the 
following  year  it  printed  5,000  in  Turin.  In  the  year  1819  it 
was  reported  that  up  to  that  date  19,000  New  Testaments  had 
been  distributed  in  Italy.  The  Italian  New  Testament  was  first 
issued  by  the  Bible  Society  in  1808,  and  the  Italian  Bible  in 
1821. 

48  The  National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland  took  the  field  in 
Italy  in  1860. 

47  The  Religious  Tract  Society  for  Italy  was  founded  in  1855. 
Until  1862  it  had  its  seat  in  Turin,  where  it  established  the 
Claudian  Press  (which  derived  its  name  from  Claudius,  Bishop  of 
Turin  (d.  839),  well  known  for  his  protests  against  the  super- 
stitions of  the  Church  of  Rome).  In  1862  its  seat  was  trans- 
ferred to  Florence,  where  it  still  remains. 

49  Independent  Y.M.C.A.'s  already  existed  in  1865.  They  were 
organized  into  a  National  Federation  in  1887. 

49  These  Associations  began  in  1892  and  were  organised  into  a 
National  Federation  in  1898. 

50  In  1891,  under  the  auspices  of  the  "Sunday  School  Unions" 
of  London  and  New  York,  the  "  National  Committee  of  the  Sun- 
day Schools  of  Italy "  was  appointed.  In  1894  the  "  National 
Committee,"  in  agreement  with  the  "  London  Sunday  School 
y.nion,"  appointed  a  General  Secretary. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    225 

and  the  Italian  branch  of  the  World's  Student 
Christian  Federation.51  With  the  mention  of  the 
flourishing  independent  Baptist  mission  of 
Spezia,52  several  medical  missions,53  various  edu- 
cational institutions,  and  about  fifteen  religious 
papers  and  reviews  which,  weekly  or  monthly, 
carry  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  through- 
out the  whole  Peninsula,  I  think  I  have  given  as 
complete  and  exact  an  idea  of  the  missionary  work 
carried  on  in  Italy  as  it  is  possible  to  give.54 

My  sympathy  and  love  are  with  all  these  heroic 
missionary  efforts,  and  I  consider  it  an  exceptional 
privilege  to  be  able  to  render  the  homage  of  my 
unlimited  esteem  and  warmest  admiration  to  the 
regiment  of  Christian  soldiers  engaged  in  that 
work,  irrespective  of  the  uniform  they  wear  and 
the  particular  flag  under  which  they  rally,  espe- 
cially when  I  think  of  the  brethren  who  have  come 
among  us  from  beyond  the  Alps  and  beyond  the 

61  Founded  in  Rome,  in  January,  1904.         B2  Founded  in  1866. 

63  The  most  important  among  which  are :  The  "  Medical  Mis- 
sion" of  Florence,  founded  in  1880;  the  "Medical  Dispensary" 
and  "  Soup-Kitchen,"  also  in  Florence,  founded  in  1892,  and  the 
"  Medical  Missions "  connected  with  several  Baptist  churches. 

54  In  order  to  make  the  statement  more  complete,  I  shall  men- 
tion three  other  works :  The  "  Chiesa  Evangelica  Italiana,"  with 
headquarters  in  Leghorn  and  possessing  a  very  limited  number 
of  small  congregations ;  an  Independent  "  Conditionalist  Baptist 
Church "  founded  in  1883  at  Torre  Pellice  in  the  Waldensian 
valleys  and  confined  in  narrow  limits,  and  a  Unitarian  move- 
ment which  has  just  begun  its  work. 


226     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

seas,  bringing  into  our  field  the  sweet  odour  of  a 
living  faith,  the  true  example  of  unwearied  activ- 
ity, and  the  eloquent  test  of  the  power  of  a  strong 
character  truly  consecrated  to  the  Lord.  In  a 
land  where  a  language  is  spoken  radically  dif- 
ferent from  theirs,  where  the  character  of  the 
people  is  so  different  from  their  own,  where  man- 
ners, customs,  and  everything  else  are  at  the  very 
antipodes  to  that  which  they  have  been  used 
from  their  childhood,  and  surrounded  by  a  cloud  of 
other  difficulties,  they  have  always  shown  them- 
selves "  in  all  these  things  more  than  conquerors 
through  Him  that  loved  them."  I  wish  to  em- 
phasise this  testimony  of  mine  because  I  want  it 
to  be  well  understood  that  what  I  am  going  to  say 
refers  only  to  things  in  general  and  not  to  the 
individuals,  with  whom  I  have  had  the  honour  of  be- 
ing a  ' '  fellow-labourer  ' '  for  years  and  years,  and 
whom  I  have  ever  counted  as  my  best  and  staunch- 
est  friends.  We  have  always  worked  together 
respectively  under  our  beloved  flags,  never,  how- 
ever, forgetting  that  above  our  own  particular  flag 
waves  the  great  banner  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 


In  concluding,  I  ask,  as  many  who  know  that 
this  Italian  mission  has  been  at  work  for  sixty 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    227 

years  have  already  asked:  Are  the  results  of  the 
Italian  mission  in  proportion  to  the  work  done 
and  to  the  sacrifices  made? 

The  answer  to  such  a  reasonable  and  important 
question  depends,  according  to  my  thinking,  on  the 
idea  one  has  of  results,  and  on  how  one  estimates 
them. 

One  evening  I  was  at  a  dinner  given  in  honour 
of  a  foreign  friend,  a  veteran  of  the  Waldensian 
mission.  Among  the  guests  was  a  wealthy  man, 
whose  colossal  fortune  only  equalled  his  colossal 
roughness  and  want  of  tact.  When  the  time  for 
"  toasts  "  arrived,  the  one  theme  was  the  mis- 
sion: the  great  personal  merits  of  the  honoured 
guest  in  relation  to  the  Italian  work.  Suddenly, 
the  rich  man  got  up,  and  began  to  talk  of  our  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  most  sceptical  way,  thus 
sounding  a  discordant  note,  and  ended  by  saying : 
"  From  your  last  report  I  perceive  that  your 
church  has  added,  this  year,  600  communicants 
to  the  roll  of  membership,  and  has  spent  $50,000; 
now  this  means  that  every  new  communicant  has 
cost  between  $83  and  $84;  and  really  I  reckon 
that  price  to  be  too  high!  "  Naturally,  if  our 
work  in  Italy  is  to  be  judged  by  such  a  criterion, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  it  has  been  and  is  a  failure, 
for  its  numbers  are  not  in  proportion  either  to  the 


228     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

labour  or  to  the  money  spent.  But  is  it  really 
money  that  can  purchase  immortal  souls!  Once 
upon  a  time  one  could  buy  slaves  with  money; 
to-day,  thank  God,  even  slaves  can  no  longer  be 
bought;  only  oxen  and  sheep  are  bargained  for. 
The  work  carried  on  by  the  churches  for  the  tri- 
umph of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  great  field, 
the  world,  is  valued  by  a  different  standard.  The 
development  of  the  ' '  mustard  seed, ' '  which  grows 
and  becomes  "  the  greatest  among  herbs  and  be- 
cometh  a  tree,"  is  not  susceptible  to  any  numerical 
valuation;  and  there  is  no  human  or  mechanical 
dynamometer  able  to  measure  the  mysterious 
process  by  which  the  leaven  of  the  Kingdom  slowly 
but  radically  transforms  an  individual,  a  family, 
or  a  country.  Now  consider :  Italian  converts  who 
once  upon  a  time  were  looked  upon  with  suspicion, 
when  they  were  not  altogether  kept  in  quarantine 
as  morally  infectious,  and  boycotted  in  public 
offices  and  factories,  are,  on  the  contrary,  to-day 
esteemed  and  sought  after  as  men  who  honestly 
and  conscientiously  do  their  duty.  All  doors  are 
open  to  them ;  their  word  is  listened  to  with  inter- 
est, their  advice  is  accepted  and  followed,  as  the 
advice  of  people  whom  one  can  trust  and  in  whom 
some  authority  is  recognised.  Their  children  are 
no  longer  only  tolerated  in  the  schools,  they  are 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    229 

loved,  for,  as  a  rule,  they  are  worthy  of  being 
held  up  by  the  teachers  as  an  example  to  others. 
The  press  also  speaks  well  of  them.  The  authori- 
ties protect  them  and  hold  them  in  high  considera- 
tion. Public  opinion  has  turned  in  their  favour. 
If  you  ask  those  around  you  who  the  "  Evan- 
gelicals ' '  are,  their  answer  almost  always  is : 
"  What  they  are  we  cannot  exactly  say;  but  we 
know  that  they  are  much  better  than  we  are  "; 
and  often  you  will  hear  people  who  are  disgusted 
with  the  Church  of  Eome  and  with  all  churches 
say :  ' '  We  do  not  belong  any  longer  to  a  church ; 
but  if  we  wanted  to,  you  may  be  sure  that  it  would 
not  be  the  Church  of  Eome ;  it  would  be  yours  we 
should  join."  While  the  cultivated  classes  apply 
to  various  pastors  for  evangelical  servants  and 
nurses  because  they  are  known  to  be  honest,  dili- 
gent, and  dutiful,  the  Eoyal  House,  which  is  and 
must  be  Eoman  Catholic,  also  entrusts  its  own 
children  to  the  care  of  Protestant  governesses. 
Who  can  say  how  far  the  modern  trend  of  Italian 
thought  towards  positive  spiritualism  is  due  to  our 
evangelical  mission?  Is  not  the  modern  Eeform 
movement  within  the  Church  of  Eome  to  a  large 
extent  due  to  Protestant  influence?  Whence  the 
fear  of  the  Vatican  of  evangelical  propaganda? 
The  Vatican  is  not  a  child  to  be  easily  frightened; 


230     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

it  is  inured  to  all  kinds  of  assaults  and  dangers, 
and  does  not  tremble  unless  confronted  with  over- 
powering peril.  All  these  results  of  the  evan- 
gelical missions  in  Italy  are  not  susceptible  to 
any  numerical  valuation;  nevertheless,  they  do 
not  cease  to  be  of  incalculable  value. 

The  results  in  the  mission  field  might  have  been 
and  might  be  more  numerous  and  more  conspicu- 
ous. Why  they  were  and  are  not,  is  a  matter 
worth  considering.  And  we  shall  consider  it,  for 
a  moment,  calmly  and  dispassionately. 


At  its  dawn  our  missionary  work  in  Italy  had  a 
great  deal  to  suffer  on  account  of  serious  mis- 
understanding. 

The  work  began  at  a  time  when  love  for  the 
fatherland  and  love  for  Truth  were  blended. 
Hatred  for  the  foreign  invader  and  for  the  old 
enemy,  the  Vatican,  drew  for  a  time  patriots  and 
religious  reformers  together  under  one  flag;  then, 
little  by  little,  the  misunderstanding  began;  both 
became  one-sided ;  the  patriots  trusted  entirely  to 
immediate  action,  to  insurrection,  to  revolution, 
and  despised  all  kind  of  evangelical  propaganda ; 
the  religious  propagandists,  on  the  other  hand, 
believed  entirely  in  the  exclusiveness  of  their  own 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    231 

means,  and  despised  everything  pertaining  to 
politics  alone.  The  testimony  of  Giuseppe  Mon- 
tanelli  is  important,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  testi- 
mony of  a  well-balanced,  impartial  witness. 
"  Of  those  who  busied  themselves  with  schools 
and  evangelical  propaganda/ '  said  he,  "  some 
were  wrong  in  setting  aside  all  political  questions 
and  in  thinking  that  '  Children's  Schools  '  and 
Protestant  Bibles  were  sufficient  to  restore  per- 
fect freedom  to  the  Italians.  But  the  liberals  did 
even  worse,  for  they  were  carried  away  by  the 
idea  that  the  only  thing  necessary  was  for  the 
whole  nation  to  be  up  in  arms;  they  laughed  at 
peaceful  activity  and  disdained  to  encourage  use- 
ful and  popular  institutions." 55 

That  misunderstanding,  that  biassed  judgment 
was  the  cause  of  the  first  hindrance  to  the  work 
of  evangelisation. 

The  second  hindrance  was  caused  by  an  unfor- 
tunate but  easily  understood  separation  between 
the  Waldenses  and  the  converts  from  other  parts 
of  Italy.— The  first  meeting  of  the  converts  from 
the  different  provinces  of  Italy  and  the  Waldenses 
freed  from  their  Alpine  prison  by  the  Edict  of 
Emancipation,  had  been  a  most  touching  one ;  and 

65  Giuseppe  Montanelli :  Memorie  sulV  Italia  e  specialmente  sulla 
Toscana,  Vol.  I,  p.  51. 


232     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

the  affection  demonstrated  by  those  brethren  so 
different  in  temperament  but  sanctified  by  the 
same  Christian  Spirit,  had  been  truly  sincere. 
They  all  were  "  like  them  that  dream  ";  and  a 
common  hymn  of  praise  was  raised  from  their 
hearts:  "  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for 
us;  whereof  we  are  glad."  56  But,  alas,  after  that 
first  enthusiasm,  there  followed  the  sad,  cold 
tyranny  of  facts ;  and,  as  we  have  already  seen,  a 
separation  became  inevitable.  The  reasons  for 
that  separation  have  been  thus  explained  by  Pro- 
fessor Emilio  Comba,  in  his  History  of  the  Wal- 
denses:  "  The  Waldensian  church,  which  had  been 
isolated  for  centuries  and  deprived  of  contact  with 
men  and  things,  now  came  forward  and  tried  to 
impose  her  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which  was  too 
narrow,  too  local,  and  more  adapted  to  her  own 
needs  than  to  those  of  the  newly-risen  churches. 
Her  leaders  were  determined  to  maintain  this  dis- 
cipline, if  not  to  impose  it  by  means  of  a  regular 
ministry  which,  though  pleasing  in  a  certain  way, 
was  too  conventional,  too  absorbing,  and  insuffi- 
cient to  find  favour  with  a  mission  which  required 
free  development,  and  the  co-operation  of  every 
member  in  the  work  for  the  cause  which  all  had 
at  heart.    On  the  one  side  there  were  men  accus- 

68  Psalm  xxvi. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    233 

tomed  to  a  rough  school  who  never  hastened  except 
with  caution.  They  were  shy,  bashful,  undecided 
where  a  question  of  improvement  or  progress  was 
concerned,  and  slow  in  the  liberal  application  of 
their  own  laws.  On  the  other  hand  were  men 
exuberant,  audacious,  violent,  very  apt  to  exceed 
reasonable  limits.  The  former,  moulded  by  the 
Eef  ormation  in  a  small  and  limited  area,  were  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  their  own  government;  the 
latter,  instead,  were  eager  to  emancipate  them- 
selves from  all  traditional  ecclesiastical  rules 
which  implied  absolute  obedience. ' ' 57  A  sep- 
aration was  bound  to  take  place,  and  so  it 
did. 

At  its  very  commencement,  the  Italian  mission 
had  to  suffer  a  third  hindrance  caused  by  inter- 
ference of  two  kinds:  the  Anglican  and  the 
Darbyite. 

The  Anglicans  brought  no  little  bitterness  into 
the  bosom  of  the  Waldensian  church.  The  great 
benefactor  of  the  church,  General  Beckwith,  was, 
like  Canon  Gilly,  an  Anglican;  he  strongly  be- 
lieved that  the  Waldenses  could  boast  of  apostolic 
origin;  that  Claudius,  Bishop  of  Turin,58  was 
one  of  them,  and  one  of  their  most  illustrious  rep- 
resentatives ;  and  convinced  that  the  Waldenses 

"Emilio  Comba:    Storia  de'  Valdesi,  p.  382.  Kd.   839. 


234     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

were  Episcopalians  with  Claudius,  he  would  have 
liked  to  see  them  organise  themselves  not  accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  of  the  churches  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, but  after  that  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
Waldenses,  however,  answered:  No,  our  presby- 
terial,  democratic  type  of  ecclesiastical  organisa- 
tion does  not  descend  to  us  from  the  Reformation ; 
it  is  prior  to  that  period ;  it  is  the  pattern  of  the 
church  of  our  fathers,  and  we  have  it  from  them 
as  a  sacred  "  inheritance;' '  Now,  the  truth  is 
that  the  ancient  Waldenses  did  have  bishops,  but 
they  were  of  a  very  presbyterian  nature.  And 
when  one  thinks  that  after  all  what  General  Beck- 
with  wanted  for  the  Waldenses  was  not  an  abso- 
lute, autocratic  Episcopalian  church,  but  an  Epis- 
copal church  presbyterially  organised,59  it  seems 
as  if  an  agreement  between  their  great  benefactor 
and  the  people  he  benefited  ought  not  to  have  been 
so  very  difficult.  Still,  it  turned  out  to  be  not  only 
difficult,  but  impossible.  The  bitterness  began  and 
lasted;  and  we  know  well  that  the  Kingdom  of 

"From  a  letter  by  General  Beckwith  to  G.  P.  Bonjour,  28th 
August,  1844.  General  Beckwith  proposed  a  Moderator  for  life, 
who  was  not  to  have  a  charge  of  any  particular  church.  He 
exhorted  the  Waldenses  to  assert  more  energetically  than  in  the 
past  the  principle  of  authority,  and,  by  adopting  a  liturgical 
form  of  worship,  to  ensure  to  the  church  a  more  active  and  effi- 
cient participation  in  public  worship  by  all  members.  See  E. 
Comba. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    235 

God  cannot  develop  in  an  atmosphere  of  bitter- 
ness. 

But  the  interference  of  the  Darbyites  was  even 
more  disastrous,  inasmuch  as  it  injured  the  whole 
Italian  mission.  The  first  seeds  of  their  ecclesias- 
tical anarchy  sown  among  the  young  converts  of 
Tuscany  at  the  time  of  the  persecution,60  were  the 
cause  of  many  and  serious  divisions;  first  of  all, 
between  the  early  converts  themselves;  then,  be- 
tween them  and  the  Waldenses,  and  they  were  also 
the  reason  why  such  men  as  Bonaventura  Mazza- 
rella  and  Luigi  Desanctis  withdrew  from  the  Wal- 
densian  church.61  Professor  E.  Comba  rightly 
remarks:  "  If  foreign  Protestantism  was  prompt 
in  coming  forward  to  help  the  evangelical  mission 
in  Italy,  it  is  unfortunately  true  that  by  unwise 

80  The  more  prominent  sowers  of  those  ideas  in  that  earliest 
period  of  the  Italian  mission  were  three  men:  Rey,  Cremieux, 
Walker.  The  first  converts  adopted  those  views  without  realis- 
ing how  far  they  might  be  considered  to  be  the  views  of  Darby, 
which  had  already  spread  from  Plymouth  and  Lausanne.  The 
three  ladies  who  bore  the  names  of  Johnson,  Weston,  and  Brown, 
appeared  at  the  last  hour;  after  the  banishment  of  the  Walden- 
sian  evangelists  they  were  left  alone  in  the  field,  and,  therefore, 
free  to  work  as  they  liked.  B.  Malan  used  to  call  them  the 
three  "Plymouth  Sisters."  The  centre  of  those  ideas  was  a 
Genevan  Committee,  founded  on  the  21st  June,  1848,  in  which 
Mr.  Henri  Tronchin  acted  as  President  and  Charles  Cremieux  as 
Secretary. 

MDr.  Luigi  Desanctis  later  on  came  back  to  the  Waldensian 
church,  was  appointed  professor  of  theology  in  the  Waldensian 
faculty,  and  died  in  Florence  on  the  31st  December,  1869. 


236     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

interference  it  brought  with  it  seeds  of  dissension 
which  unhappily  bore  fruit.  How  much  better 
would  it  have  been  if  those  friends  of  the  evan- 
gelical mission  in  Italy  had  stuck  to  the  plan  they 
had  always  boasted  of  as  their  own:  to  seek  not 
the  glory  of  man  but  the  glory  of  Christ."  e2 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  spirit  in  which  the 
various  foreign  committees  have  been  and  are 
now  working  in  Italy,  is  wider,  more  judicious, 
and,  therefore,  more  beneficent  than  that  shown  by 
the  friends  of  the  mission  at  its  beginning.  Still 
— why  should  we  not  admit  it  frankly? — even  in 
our  time,  drawbacks  are  not  wanting,  which  hinder 
the  work  from  advancing.  Come  with  me  in  spirit 
into  one  of  the  principal  cities  of  Italy  and 
see  for  yourselves  the  difficulties  I  am  speak- 
ing of. 

In  wandering  through  the  streets  of  that  city, 
your  attention  is  attracted  by  some  special  in- 
scriptions on  buildings:  "Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  ";  further  on,  "  Wesleyan  Church  ";  then, 
"Baptist  Church";  then,  "Church  of  the 
Brethren.' '  To  you,  an  American  or  an  English- 
man, those  names  have  a  meaning;  they  stir  up  in 
your  heart  glorious  recollections ;  they  are  names 
connected  with  religious  movements  which  have 

62Emilio  Comba:  Btoria  de'  Valdesi,  p.  379. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    237 

had  an  historical  "  raison  d'etre,"  a  mission,  and 
martyrs;  they  are  the  different  sections  of  the 
Church  in  which  from  your  childhood  you  have 
learned  to  love  the  Lord.  But  what  meaning  have 
they  to  an  Italian? 

Do  not  forget  that  the  Italian  who  passes  by  and 
sees  those  inscriptions,  is  a  man  accustomed  to  the 
idea  that  the  true  Church  is  one.  Certainly,  unity 
in  the  Church  of  Kome  is  unity  of  form,  not  unity 
of  spirit;  but  he  has  never  been  in  the  habit  of 
inquiring  too  deeply;  the  Church,  to  be  true,  must 
be  one,  he  thinks,  and  that  is  enough.  Now,  this 
man,  when  passing  those  several  places  of  wor- 
ship, and  reading  the  different  inscriptions,  thinks 
at  once :  ' '  Ah,  they  are  foreigners,  then !  We 
have  had  quite  enough  of  foreigners;  they  have 
domineered  and  harassed  us  long  enough;  only 
lately  have  we  driven  them  out  of  our  country ;  we 
do  not  want  to  see  them  return  under  the  garb 
of  religion.  And,  besides,  they  are  divided ;  there- 
fore, they  are  sects;  they  cannot  belong  to  the 
Church;  for  the  true  Church  is  one."  Then,  fur- 
ther on,  he  reads  the  inscription :  ' '  Church 
of  the  Brethren.' '  He  reflects  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, then  says:  "  But  if  these  are  brethren, 
who  are  the  others'?  Cousins,  acquaintances,  or 
strangers?  " 


238     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

How  often  have  I  thought :  How  beautiful  if  from 
the  very  beginning  our  brethren  from  beyond  the 
Alps  and  beyond  the  seas  had  said :  * '  We  want  to 
bring  the  Gospel  to  Italy;  but  we  will  not  trans- 
plant into  Italy  our  names  and  our  ecclesiastical 
organisations;  we  will  not  make  a  kaleidoscopic 
reproduction  of  our  religious  denominationalism 
in  Italy.  We  want  to  consider  Italy  as  our  com- 
mon mission  field.  We  shall  work  there  not  as 
Methodist  Episcopalians,  or  as  Wesleyans,  or  as 
Baptists,  or  as  Plymouth  Brethren,  but  simply  as 
evangelists,  as  missionaries.  We  shall  give  Christ 
and  the  Gospel  back  to  Italy;  and  the  Church 
there  shall  have  but  one  name :  that  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Church  of  Italy;  the  Spirit  of  Christ  Him- 
self will,  in  His  own  time,  create  an  ecclesiastical 
form  congenial  to  the  nature,  the  traditions,  and 
the  aspirations  of  the  converted  people. ' ' 

Why  should  we  not  do  now  what  has  been  left 
undone  up  to  the  present?  at  this  great  moment 
when  consciences  are  being  awakened  in  Italy, 
when  hearts  are  opening  to  the  Gospel  and  souls 
are  hungering  and  thirsting  after  what  the  Church 
of  Rome,  inasmuch  as  she  has  lost  all  sense  of 
spirituality,  is  no  longer  able  to  give? 

If  what  I  suggest  were  done,  another  advantage, 
and  a  great  one,  would  result  from  it.    By  con- 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    239 

centrating  so  many  and  powerful  energies  into 
one  common  effort,  one  undenominational  work, 
instead  of  having  many  and  different  places  of 
worship,  which  often  present  a  shabby  and  far 
from  aesthetic  appearance,  it  would  be  possible  to 
have  at  least  one  or  two  churches  in  every  town, 
built  with  good  taste  in  the  most  central  part,  and 
built  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  be  out  of  harmony 
with  the  artistic  ecclesiastical  monuments  that  are 
the  glory  and  pride  of  our  Italian  cities.  Under 
the  shadow  of  those  big  churches  we  might  have, 
here  and  there  in  every  town,  a  number  of  mission 
halls  where  evangelists,  no  longer  divided  by 
denominational  barriers,  could  preach  Christ  to 
the  people,  with  one  mind,  with  one  heart,  and 
following  a  strategic  plan  prepared  with  wis- 
dom from  on  high,  and  in  the  spirit  of  united 
prayer. 

The  words  of  a  great  Italian  who  was  really 
such  also  in  mind  and  sentiment,  are  worth  listen- 
ing to :  "  I  do  not  believe, ' '  said  he,  ' '  that  those 
Italian  evangelical  buildings  which  are  so  bare, 
and  cold,  and  which  look  like  places  of  public  meet- 
ings to  discuss  commercial  and  worldly  matters, 
are  able  to  attract  a  people  with  such  lively  and 
fickle  imagination  as  the  Italians  have.  .  .  .  The 
fact  that  the  excessive  outward  form  of  the  Roman 


240     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Catholic  Church  distracts  and  lulls  the  spiritual 
energies  by  tickling  the  senses  and  exciting  the 
fancy  and  curiosity,  does  not  mean  that  the  Church 
must  lack  something  able  to  dispose  souls  to  medi- 
tation, to  prayer,  and  to  worship;  something  to 
make  them  feel  that  they  are  not  in  an  ordinary 
place,  but  in  the  house  of  God."  63  Professor  Ma- 
riano was  right.  Between  an  exaggerated  ritual- 
ism which  is  the  death  of  spirituality,  and  a  place 
of  worship  frigid  and  prosaically  barren,  lies  that 
just  mean  which  is  represented  by  a  church  severe, 
but  not  divested  of  that  sober  symbolism  which  an- 
swers to  an  imperious  need  of  the  heart,  and  which 
contributes  to  edification  and  helps  to  elevate  the 
soul  to  God. 

When,  freed  from  this  mortal  coil,  we  enter  the 
great  temple  of  eternity,  we  shall  no  longer  need 
either  cathedrals  or  symbolism ;  but  as  long  as  our 
spirit  is  kept  within  the  bounds  of  the  flesh,  we 
would  not  act  wisely,  I  think,  were  we  to  persist 
in  overlooking  this  aesthetic  need  which,  among 
all  needs  of  the  heart,  is  one  of  the  noblest  and 
deepest.  At  any  rate,  we  should  be  utterly  in  the 
wrong  were  we  to  insist  on  overlooking  it  while 
working  amongst  a  people  like  the  Italians,  who 

^Raffaele  Mariano:  II  pensiero  religioso  in  Italia.  A  lecture 
given  at  the  Ninth  General  Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance held  in  Florence,  1891. 


Missionary  Blossom  and  Evangelical  Fruit    241 

have  so  delicate  an  artistic  sense  as  to  appear  to 
be  unable  to  worship  in  a  place  unless  it  be 
in  unison  with  the  vibrations  of  their  souls,  which 
cannot  live  but  in  an  atmosphere  of  everlasting 
beauty. 


VI 
IN  THE  LAND  OF  EXILE 


VI 
IN  THE  LAND  OF  EXILE 

THOSE  who  wish  to  make  a  complete  study, 
in  all  its  aspects,  of  the  evangelical  move- 
ment in  Italy,  must  not  neglect  that  land  of 
exile  where  so  many  of  our  best  men  either 
ripened  their  religious  convictions  or  found  there 
the  way  of  life.  Information  concerning  this 
special  phase  of  the  movement  is  very  scarce; 
nevertheless,  I  have  done  my  best  to  gather  the 
largest  possible  amount  of  genuine  and  reliable 
material.  At  the  end  of  the  chapter  the  reader 
will  be  able  to  judge  whether  this  study  of  mine 
has  been  a  useless  digression,  or  if  it  has  its 
legitimate  place  in  the  general  economy  of  my 
work. 

#  * 

In  order  to  rightly  understand  and  appreciate 
the  things  of  which  I  shall  have  to  speak,  it  is 
necessary  for  me  to  begin  by  reminding  the  reader 
of  the  wretched  condition  of  Italy  at  the  time  to 
which  I  refer. 

245 


246     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

As  soon  as  the  armies  of  Wellington  and 
Bliicher  had  destroyed  the  unlimited  power  of 
Napoleon  I  at  Waterloo  on  June  18th,  1815,  the 
representatives  of  European  Powers,  convoked 
at  Vienna  1  to  regulate  the  destinies  of  Europe, 
resolved  that  Italy  should  be  picked  to  pieces; 
and  so  she  was,  and  remained  so  until  1859.  No 
nation  came  out  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna  so  mal- 
treated as  Italy.  Just  glance  over  the  map  of 
Italy  of  that  time. 

In  the  north,  the  kingdom  of  Sardinia,  includ- 
ing Piedmont,  Liguria,  and  Sardinia,  was  allotted 
to  the  House  of  Savoy  ruled  over  by  Victor  Eman- 
uel I;  Lombardy  and  Venice  were  declared  Aus- 
trian provinces ;  the  Duchy  of  Modena  and  Eeggio 
was  parcelled  out  to  the  Austrian  archduke,  Francis 
IV;  the  Duchy  of  Parma  and  Piacenza  to  Marie 
Louise,  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria 
and  the  wife  of  Napoleon  I;  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Tuscany  to  Ferdinand  III  of  Lorraine ;  the  Prin- 
cipality of  Lucca  to  Marie  Louise,  a  Bourbon,  as 
regent  for  her  son  Charles  Ludovic  not  yet  of  age ; 
the  Eoman  State  to  the  Pope ;  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Two  Sicilies  (Naples  and  Sicily)  to  the  Bourbon 


^he  Congress  of  Vienna  of  1815,  with  its  so-called  Final  Act, 
only  continued  and  completed  the  work  begun  and  suspended  by 
the  Congress  of  Paris  in  May,  1814. 


The  Land  of  Exile  247 

Ferdinand  IV;  the  Canton  Tessin  to  Switzerland; 
the  island  of  Malta  to  England;  Corsica  to 
France. 

Also  these  "  membra  disjecta,"  directly  or  in- 
directly, were  in  the  clutches  of  the  Austrian 
eagle.  Freedom  of  thought,  speech,  and  con- 
science was  everywhere  punished  by  imprison- 
ment, hard  labour,  or  death.  Public  instruction 
was  thwarted,  and  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Jesuits, 
who  had  been  allowed  to  come  to  the  fore  again 
and  had  become  omnipotent.  Economical  life 
languished  because  the  political  preoccupations  of 
the  time  gave  no  room  for  any  thought  of  agricul- 
ture, industry,  and  commerce. 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  if  on  account  of  these 
wretched  conditions  secret  societies  should  begin 
to  arise?  When  tyranny  tries  its  best  to  slay  free- 
dom of  thought,  of  speech,  and  of  conscience,  it 
is  natural  and  necessary  that  secret  societies 
should  spring  up  to  keep  alive  the  sacred  ideal  of 
fatherland,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  ruin 
of  despotism  and  the  triumph  of  liberty.  The 
secret  societies  which  were  formed  in  the  various 
States  of  Italy  after  1815  were  several.  I  give' 
the  names  of  some  of  them:  I  Pellegrini  Bianchi 
(The  White  Pilgrims) ;  I  Protettori  Repubblicani 
(The   Republican   Protectors);   La  Spilla  Nera 


248     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

(The  Black  Pin) ;  Gli  Oppressi,  non  vinti  (The  Op- 
pressed, but  not  Subdued) ;  La  Speranza  (Hope) ; 
I  Fratelli  (The  Brethren) ;  La  Fusciacca  Rossa 
(The  Bed  Tie);  but  the  biggest  and  most  im- 
portant was  that  called  /  Carbonari.  This  so- 
ciety, which  took  its  rise  in  the  mountains  of 
Abruzzo  and  Calabria  and  had  for  its  aim  the  over- 
throw of  all  tyrants  and  the  reconquest  of  free- 
dom, had  spread  all  over  Italy.  It  is  reckoned 
that  in  a  very  short  time  it  numbered  800,000 
members.2 

The  influence  of  these  secret  societies  was  im- 
mense. The  movements  and  revolutions  they 
planned  and  roused  had  not  all  a  fortunate  issue, 
for  the  times  were  not  yet  mature ;  but  in  the  shade 
of  those  conventicles  the  sacred  flame  of  the  pa- 
triotic ideal  was  kept  alive,  ideas  were  ripened, 
and  men  were  prepared  for  the  future  glorious 
struggle.  The  secret  societies  were  to  Italy  and 
its  political  freedom  what  the  Catacombs  were  to 
Christianity  at  the  period  of  persecution. 

Time  fails  me  to  describe  here  the  interval  be- 
tween 1821  and  1831  which  Italian  history  records 
with  pages  full  of  the  glorious  names  of  martyrs, 
and  with  the  names  of  tyrants  who  were  murdered 

2  The  "  Carboneria  "  was  only  a  transformation  of  Freemasonry. 
Freemasons  had  the  largest  part  in  its  foundation. 


The  Land  of  Exile  249 

because  they  obstinately  insisted  on  upholding  by 
means  of  imprisonment  and  the  gallows  what  they 
were  in  the  habit  of  calling  their  divine  right. 
In  that  terrible  period  the  liberals  of  Piedmont 
were  obliged  to  go  into  exile  in  order  to  free  them- 
selves from  the  hands  of  Carlo  Felice,  who  well 
deserved  the  name  of  Carlo  Feroce  (the  fierce) ; 
in  Lombardy  and  Venice,  men  such  as  Silvio  Pel- 
lico,  Federico  Confalonieri,  Count  Porro,  Count 
Parravicini,  Pietro  Maroncelli,  Carlo  Oroboni 
were  sent  to  the  horrid  prisons  of  Spielberg  by 
Austria  after  most  iniquitous  trials;  in  the  Two 
Sicilies,  Francesco,  the  son  of  Ferdinand,3  ruled 
through  that  inhuman  beast  Del  Carretto,  who  used 
to  send  the  heads  of  decapitated  liberals  through- 
out the  kingdom,  enclosed  in  iron  cages.  And  I 
wish  I  could  speak  here  of  the  revolutions  of 
1831  and  of  the  stormy  but  important  period  be- 
tween 1831  and  1848,  the  year  of  the  first  war  of 
Italian  Independence.4  We  must,  however,  make 
sail  in  another  direction. 

Before  doing  so,  let  me  answer  a  question  that 
may  be  raised  at  this  point :  How  were  things  go- 

3  Ferdinand  IV  of  the  Bourbons,  when  he  became  King  of  the 
Two  Sicilies  (Naples  and  Sicily),  assumed  the  name  of  Ferdi- 
nand I.     He  died  in  1825. 

4  It  was  on  the  night  of  the  22d  and  23d  of  March,  1848,  that 
the  Ministry  of  Charles  Albert  decided  to  declare  war  on  Austria, 


250     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

ing  on  in  the  Papal  States  at  that  time  1  We  ought 
to  expect  to  be  right  in  supposing  that  under  a 
theocratic  government  which  has  always  pre- 
tended to  rule  in  the  name  of  Christ  and  to  take 
its  inspiration  from  Christianity  only,  things  were 
being  managed,  if  not  in  an  ideally  perfect  man- 
ner, at  least  better  than  anywhere  else.  Not  at 
all.  In  the  States  of  the  Pontiff,  under  the  wings 
of  Papacy,  things  were  going  on  badly,  worse  than 
in  many  other  places. 

The  period  between  the  Congress  of  Vienna  and 
the  year  1848  saw  five  Popes  in  the  so-called  St. 
Peter's  chair.  The  first  was  Pius  VII,  who  ruled 
until  1823.  He  was  elected  at  Venice  in  1804  after 
a  very  long  Conclave.  Keleased  from  prison, 
where  he  had  been  kept  for  almost  five  years  by 
Napoleon  I  (whom  he  had  crowned  in  Paris  as 
Emperor  in  1804),  Pius  VII  re-established,  in 
1814,  the  order  of  the  Jesuits  which  Clement  VIII 
had  abolished  in  1773.  Under  him  the  reaction 
against  all  liberal  movement  was  most  violent. 
All  liberals  were  persecuted  to  death.  A  society 
was  founded  about  then  called  the  "  Society  of 
the  Sanfedisti."  The  members  had  to  take  the 
following  oath:  "  Not  to  spare  one  of  those  be- 
longing to  the  infamous  liberal  party,  whatever  his 
birth  and  his  class  or  fortune  in  society.    To  have 


The  Land  of  Exile  251 

no  pity  either  for  their  children  or  the  aged;  to 
shed  to  the  very  last  drop  the  blood  of  those  vil- 
lainous liberals,  without  consideration  of  sex  or 
rank. ' '  When  Pius  VII  died  in  1823,  Leo  XII  suc- 
ceeded him.  Having  as  a  cardinal  belonged  to  the 
reactionary  party,  he  began  at  once  to  persecute 
men  of  liberal  ideas.  He  turned  out  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  State  the  few  laymen  still 
remaining  there,  favoured  the  Jesuits  and  their 
schools,  increased  the  privileges  of  the  clergy, 
threatened  with  the  severest  punishment  all  trans- 
gressors of  the  commandments  of  the  Church,  per- 
secuted the  Jews,  compelling  them  even  to  sell 
their  property;  and  in  a  moment  of  antiprogres- 
sional  rage  prohibited  even  vaccination.  Deter- 
mined also  to  suppress  all  secret  societies,  which 
had  grown  in  extraordinary  numbers,  Leo  XII 
sent  the  terrible  Cardinal  Eivarola  to  Eomagna, 
who,  in  1825,  in  a  single  judgment  passed  sentence 
on  522  liberals,  of  whom  7  were  put  to  death.  Leo 
died  in  1829 ;  and  Pius  VIII  took  his  place.  He 
inaugurated  his  reign  (which  lasted  only  one  year 
and  eight  months)  by  checking  with  great  vio- 
lence three  small  revolutions  at  Cesena,  Imola, 
and  Bologna.  Gregory  XVI,  who  followed  Pius  in 
1831,  continued  the  persecution  of  the  liberals 
with  ferocity.    In  Komagna  there  still  lives  the 


252     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

awful  remembrance  of  the  hospitality  granted  in 
that  same  year  to  some  thousands  of  soldiers  of 
the  Pope  who,  at  Cesena  and  Forli,  perpetrated 
nameless  atrocities,  worthy  of  Nero.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  under  the  government  of  Gregory  XVI 
the  Eoman  State  reached  its  most  despicable 
period.  The  Pope  was  an  avowed  enemy  of  all 
progress;  he  refused  to  admit  railways,  tele- 
graphs, and  scientific  congresses  in  his  States. 
Administration  and  justice  were  all  in  the  hands 
of  ecclesiastics;  he  caused  ecclesiastical  and  polit- 
ical censure  to  be  exercised  in  a  pitiless  way,  pub- 
lic education  was  opposed,  and  industry  and  com- 
merce languished.  In  Romagna,  one  of  the  noblest 
and  most  patriotic  regions  of  Italy,  he  allowed 
a  sect  to  arise  called  "  the  Centurions,"  which  had 
as  its  aim  the  persecution  of  the  liberals,  and  to 
whose  members  everything  was  allowed  and  for- 
given ;  even  crime,  if  committed  on  behalf  of  the 
"  Holy  Cause.' '  No  wonder  that  the  spirit  of  all 
true  patriots  was  deeply  stirred  within  them. 
Twice,  in  1843  and  in  1845,  they  tried  to  throw  off 
the  papal  yoke,  but  they  did  not  succeed  and  had 
to  atone  for  their  noble  daring  by  prison,  exile,  or 
by  their  lives.  Gregory  died  in  1846,  and  sixteen 
days  after,  Pius  IX  was  called  upon  to  wear  the 
tiara. 


The  Land  of  Exile  253 

He  inaugurated  his  reign  by  stopping  all  polit- 
ical inquisitions,  by  distributing  alms  generously, 
and  by  limiting  the  expenses  of  his  Court;  small 
things  indeed,  but  which  made  the  people  hope  too 
much  from  him.  On  16th  July,  1846,  he  published 
an  ample  decree  of  amnesty  for  all  who  had  been 
exiled  and  condemned  for  political  reasons.  The 
news  of  this  most  merciful  act  ran  throughout  all 
Italy,  exciting  great  joy  and  deep  emotion  every- 
where, and  the  name  of  Pius  IX  was  blessed  all 
over  the  country.  The  decree  of  amnesty  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  appointment  of  Cardinal  Gizzi, 
known  to  be  a  liberal,  to  the  Secretaryship  of 
State,  and  by  the  formation  of  special  commis- 
sions charged  to  study  possible  reforms.  En- 
thusiasm was  greater  than  ever.  In  all  towns  and 
villages,  festivals  and  illuminations  were  held  in 
honour  of  the  Pope.  So  the  year  1846  closed  in 
the  midst  of  general  rejoicing.  The  first  months 
of  1847  brought  with  them  nothing  new,  and  symp- 
toms of  diffidence  began  to  show  themselves ;  but, 
in  March,  the  law  concerning  the  press  was  re- 
formed, that  of  censorship  mitigated,  and  other 
reforms  were  introduced.  Universal  enthusiasm 
was  rekindled,  and  all,  even  the  most  diffident, 
seemed  quite  conquered  by  the  reforming  Pope; 
even  Garibaldi  and  Mazzini  wrote  two  famous  let- 


254     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

ters,  urging  him  to  take  the  Cause  of  Italian  Inde- 
pendence to  heart. 

But,  alas,  the  dream  of  the  possibility  of  a  lib- 
eral Pope  was  doomed  not  to  last.  On  the  night 
of  the  22d  and  23d  March,  1848,  Charles  Albert's 
ministry  resolved  on  war  against  Austria.  In 
Piedmont  and  in  other  parts  of  Italy  the  enthusi- 
asm for  this  national  war  was  indescribable; 
everywhere  the  youth  of  the  country  rose  in  arms 
ready  to  hasten  to  Lombardy,  where  the  destinies 
of  Italy  were  about  to  be  decided.  Suddenly,  how- 
ever, while  on  the  fields  of  Lombardy  victory 
smiled  upon  the  Italian  army,  Pius  IX,  who  had 
bestowed  his  apostolic  blessing  on  the  troops  mov- 
ing to  the  front,  startled  the  whole  land  by  his 
new  attitude.  The  enemies  of  Italian  liberty  had 
succeeded  in  frightening  him  by  cunningly  making 
him  believe  that  if  he  continued  to  support  the 
Italian  campaign  as  he  was  doing,  great  schisms 
would  surely  take  place  in  Germany  and  Austria ; 
and  he,  finding  himself  with  the  alternative  either 
of  doing  his  duty  as  an  Italian  prince  or  listening 
to  those  who  reminded  him  that  before  all  he  was 
the  head  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  abandoned 
the  Italian  war,  and  in  the  Encyclical  of  the  29th 
April  declared  that  he,  as  the  head  of  a  religion 
of  peace  and  charity,  could  not  either  wish  or  en- 


The  Land  of  Exile  255 

courage  war  between  the  nations.  The  irritation 
caused  by  this  act  was  great;  and  the  name  of 
Pius  IX,  which  had  hitherto  been  a  symbol  of  na- 
tional redemption,  became  the  object  of  hatred 
and  execration. 

All  this  will  suffice,  I  think,  to  prove  my  asser- 
tion that  in  the  shadow  of  Papacy  things  were 
turning  out  badly,  worse  than  anywhere  else. 


Such  were  the  miserable  political  conditions  of 
Italy  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. I  want  my  readers  now  to  make  the  personal 
acquaintance  of  some  of  those  men  who  were 
driven  away  by  the  storm  of  persecution  into  the 
land  of  exile  and  either  found  there  the  way  of 
life,  or  were  strengthened  in  their  faith,  and  be- 
came, in  the  hands  of  God,  powerful  instruments 
for  the  advancement  of  His  Kingdom. 

Let  us  begin  with  Gabriele  Eossetti.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  tell  you  of  Maria  Francesca  Eossetti, 
authoress  of  an  interesting  analytical  commentary 
of  Dante's  poem,  called  "  A  Shadow  of  Dante/ ' 
or  of  Dante  Gabriele  Eossetti  the  poet  and  Pre- 
Eaphaelite  painter,  or  of  William  Michael  Eos- 
setti, who  attained  such  high  rank  as  a  critic  both 
in  literature  and  art,  or  of  Christina  Eossetti,  who, 


256     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

as  William  Sharp  says,  "  has  achieved  a  fame 
which  no  poetess  except  Mrs.  Browning  has 
equalled,  and  whose  lovely  lyrics  are  known  to 
thousands  both  in  England  and  in  the  Colonies,  as 
well  as  to  a  large  public  in  the  United  States."5 
This  family  of  poets  and  artists  is  well  known, 
but  the  father  of  those  illustrious  children  is 
perhaps  not  so  familiar  to  most;  and  this  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at,  considering  that,  though  he  was 
distinguished  as  a  poet,  the  details  of  his  life 
were,  up  to  a  short  time  ago,  very  little  known 
even  in  Italy.  And  it  is  he  who  interests  us  in  a 
special  way  in  connection  with  our  subject. 

Gabriele  Eossetti  was  born  on  the  1st  March, 
1783,  at  Vasto  in  Abruzzo.  His  parents  were  Nic- 
colo  Eossetti  and  Maria  Francesca  Pietrocola. 
At  Vasto  he  went  through  his  first  studies.  He 
was  a  born  poet ;  an  "  improvvisatore  ' ' ;  and  it 
was  at  Vasto  that  he  extemporised  his  first  verses, 
singing  of  the  charming  beauty  of  his  Abruzzo. 
In  1799,  when  Gabriele  was  sixteen  years  old,  a 
great  and  sudden  convulsion  shook  his  native  town 
on  the  day  of  Epiphany.  The  mayor,  Floriano 
Pietrocola,  was  found  murdered  in  the  church,  and 


6  Maria  Francesca  was  born  in  1827;  Dante  Gabriele,  whose 
full  name  was  Gabriel  Charles  Dante  Rossetti,  was  born  in 
1828;  William  Michael,  in  1829;  Christina  Georgina,  in  1830. 


The  Land  of  Exile  257 

the  whole  town  was  in  the  hands  of  assassins  and 
robbers. — "  What  does  all  this  mean?  "  asked 
the  bewildered  young  Eossetti. — "  This,  yon  see," 
some  answered  him,  "  is  a  revolution  in  favour 
of  the  legitimists  and  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  re- 
ligion, roused  by  the  Jacobins."  Gabriele,  who 
was  a  young  fellow  of  good  heart  and  right  mind, 
thought :  ' '  Surely,  that  cannot  be  the  way  to  de- 
fend either  the  monarchy  or  the  altar. ' '  The  recol- 
lection of  Floriano  Pietrocola  assassinated  in  a 
church  in  the  name  of  the  Church  and  of  the  legit- 
imists haunted  him  night  and  day;  and  when  he 
heard  men  talk  in  private  of  Jacobins,  of  the 
French,  and  of  democratic  government  with  the 
boldness  allowed  by  the  tyranny  of  the  times, 
Gabriele's  heart  beat  fast,  and  he  began  to  pre- 
pare those  lyrics  which  later  on  were  destined  to 
rouse  and  to  call  to  liberty  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  consciences,  which  had  grown  torpid 
during  their  moral  and  political  bondage.  In  1815 
he  entered  the  Carboneria,  and  in  1820  he  was  the 
bard  of  the  Neapolitan  revolution. 

Here  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back  to  the 
events  of  the  time. 

The  Congress  of  Vienna,  as  I  have  already 
said,  allotted  the  kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies 
(Naples  and  Sicily)  to  the  Bourbons.    Ferdinand 


258     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

IV,  detested  for  the  horrors  he  had  committed  in 
1799,  had  returned  from  Sicily,  where  he  had  taken 
refuge  in  1806,  promising  forgiveness  to  the  rebels 
and  freedom  to  all.  But  how  did  he  keep  his  prom- 
ise? As  soon  as  he  had  assumed  the  name  of  Fer- 
dinand I,  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  he  abolished 
the  Constitution  he  had  already  granted  to  Sicily, 
and  crushed  the  whole  kingdom  under  that  hard 
despotism  which  history  records  as  an  example 
of  the  most  hateful  and  pitiless  tyranny.  Mean- 
while, General  Guglielmo  Pepe,  a  staunch  liberal, 
was  spreading  the  ideas  of  the  "  Carboneria  " 
throughout  the  army ;  so  that  it  was  to  be  expected 
that  the  first  signal  of  revolution  should  come 
from  the  army;  and  it  was  so.  On  the  2d  July, 
1820,  two  lieutenants  of  the  Nola  garrison,  with 
a  hundred  soldiers,  left  the  barracks  and  stirred 
up  the  liberals  everywhere  with  the  cry  of  ' '  Free- 
dom! "  and  "  Constitution!  "  The  revolution 
extended  to  all  the  Neapolitan  country.  Ferdi- 
nand at  first  tried  to  subdue  it;  then,  concealing 
his  rage,  he  promised  to  give  his  people  the  Con- 
stitution, and  it  was  arranged  that  he  was  to  take 
the  oath  on  the  13th  July.  On  that  day,  while  the 
people  were  waiting  impatiently  for  the  King, 
who,  in  a  most  aggravating  manner,  delayed  going 
to  the  church  of  Santo  Spirito  to  take  the  oath, 


The  Land  of  Exile  259 

Gabriele  Eossetti  improvised  a  very  fine  sonnet 
at  the  "  Caffe  d 'Italia,"  which  is  known  to  few, 
and  was  published  for  the  first  time  in  1861  by  a 
nephew  of  the  poet.6  The  King  pledged  his  oath 
to  the  Constitution  (which  was  the  same  as  that 
of  Spain) ;  and  in  order  to  throw  dust  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people,  added,  of  his  own  accord,  the  follow- 
ing words  to  the  formula  of  the  oath:  "  Almighty 
God,  who,  with  Thy  infinite  insight  readest  the 
human  soul  and  the  future,  do  Thou  send  down  the 
thunderbolts  of  Thy  vengeance  on  my  head  this 
very  moment,  if  I  lie  or  come  short  of  my 
promise.' ' 

Eossetti  greeted  the  Constitution  with  a  poem 
that  became  almost  the  official  hymn  of  the  revolu- 
tion and  which  is  one  of  the  gems  of  our  Italian 

6 This  is  the  sonnet: 

Sire,  che  attendi  piu?    Lo  seettro  ispano 
Gia  infranto  cadde  al  suol,  funesto  esempio 
A  chi  resta  a  regnar!     Vindice  mano 
Gli  sta  sul  capo,  che  ne  vuol  lo  scempio. 

Sire,   che   attendi   piu?   Porgoglio  insano 
Ceda  al  pubblico  voto:  il  foro,  il  tempio 
Voglion   la  morte  tua — resiste  invano 
II   debil   cortigiano,   il  vile   e   Pempio! 

Soli  non  siam;   fin  da  remoti  lidi 

Grido  di  morte  ai  despoti  rimbomba  .... 
Passa  il  tempo  a  tuo  danno,  e  non  decidi? 

Sire,  che  attendi  piil?  gia  il  folgor  piomba  .... 
O  il  tuo  regnar  col  popolo  dividi, 
O  sul  trono  aborrito  avrai  la  tomba. 


260  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
literature.  The  greatest  of  modern  Italian  poets, 
Giosue  Carducci,  wrote:  "  The  thirty  stanzas  of 
this  hymn,  magnificent  in  its  classic  imagery,  and 
sung  for  many  a  long  time  in  an  undertone  by 
women  and  children,  cost  the  poet  thirty  long 
years  of  exile  followed  by  death  in  a  foreign 
land. ' '  Three  months  after  the  solemn  oath,  which 
he  had  taken  hypocritically,  Ferdinand  I,  taking 
the  opportunity  afforded  him  by  the  Congress  of 
Troppau,7  cancelled  the  Constitution  and  again 
imposed  despotism  on  the  land.  On  the  23d 
March,  1821,  50,000  Austrians  entered  Naples  to 
re-establish  the  old,  hated,  tyrannical  government. 
On  the  15th  May  King  Ferdinand  returned  to 
Naples;  and  backed  by  35,000  Austrians,  who 
remained  in  his  kingdom  to  repress  the  fury  of 
the  betrayed  people,  began  his  persecution  and  his 
revenge.    In  a  decree  dated  10th  April,  the  treach- 

7  The  Congress  of  Troppau  (Austrian  Silesia)  was  held  in  Oc- 
tober, 1820.  The  sovereigns  of  Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia, 
with  the  representatives  of  France  and  England,  met  first  at 
Troppau  and  then  at  Lubiana  to  discuss  the  events  in  Italy.  The 
King  of  Naples  also  was  invited  to  attend;  and  he,  after  having 
left  the  regency  to  his  son  Francesco,  went  there  promising  his 
subjects  that  he  would  defend  the  Constitution  he  had  sworn  to 
maintain.  As  soon  as  he  arrived,  the  allies  communicated  to 
him  that  it  was  their  intention  to  re-establish  in  Naples  the  old 
absolute  regime;  and  he,  without  making  the  slightest  objection, 
wrote  to  Francesco,  the  Regent,  on  the  28th  January,  1821,  direct- 
ing him  to  respect  and  accept  the  wish  expressed  by  the  allied 
sovereigns ! 


The  Land  of  Exile  261 

erous  King  condemned  to  death  all  the  "  Car- 
bonari ";  and  Bossetti  especially  was  aimed  at. 
Canosa,  who  was  then  the  head  of  the  police,  or- 
dered his  sbirri  to  seize  him  dead  or  alive.  Bos- 
setti took  refuge  in  the  cellar  of  a  house,  and 
remained  there  for  three  months,  from  March  to 
June.  The  hiding  place  was  insecure;  how  was 
it  possible  to  rescue  him  ?  God  did  it,  in  one  of  His 
marvellous  providential  ways. 

In  1820  a  squadron  of  the  British  fleet,  under 
the  command  of  Admiral  Sir  Graham  Moore,  had 
entered  the  Bay  of  Naples.  Lady  Moore,  who 
knew  Bossetti 's  poems,  wished  to  make  the  per- 
sonal acquaintance  of  the  poet.  Eossetti,  who  was 
at  that  time  custodian  of  the  Museum  of  An- 
tiquities in  Naples,  was  introduced  to  the  Admiral 
and  his  wife,  who  liked  him  and  often  invited  him 
to  their  house.  Now  Lady  Graham  did  not  want 
to  abandon  the  poet  in  his  misfortune,  and  per- 
suaded her  husband  to  save  him.  The  Admiral 
learnt  where  the  poet  was  hidden,  and  sent  two 
of  his  officers  there  with  a  naval  uniform.  Eos- 
setti put  it  on,  left  the  house  arm-in-arm  with  his 
protectors,  crossed  Naples  in  broad  daylight  in  a 
cab,  and  at  Santa  Lucia  entered  the  boat  which 
was  to  take  him  safe  and  sound  on  board  the 
Rochefort.    When    Sir    Graham    Moore,    before 


262     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

weighing  anchor,  went,  as  he  was  bound  to  do,  to 
take  leave  of  Ferdinand,  the  King,  almost  unable 
to  control  his  anger,  asked  him  insolently  to  give 
up  the  rebel  he  had  on  board.  To  which  Sir 
Graham  answered  sternly:  "  A  British  Admiral 
never  commits  such  meanness  ";  and  turned  his 
back  on  him. 

Eossetti  remained  three  years  in  Malta,  pro- 
tected by  the  governor  of  the  island,  Sir  John 
Hookham  Frere,  who  was  a  warm  admirer  of  the 
poet's  talents.  Eossetti  often  improvised  in  the 
big  hall  of  the  governor  before  the  most  intel- 
lectual company.  One  day,  inspired  by  the  sug- 
gestive recollections  of  the  island,  he  filled  all 
with  indescribable  enthusiasm,  by  improvising  a 
poem  on  the  "  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul.''  Early  in 
1825  he  went  to  London,  where  a  year  later  he  mar- 
ried Frances  Polidori,  sister  of  Dr.  Polidori,  who 
travelled  with  Lord  Byron,  and  daughter  of  Signor 
Polidori,  secretary  to  Alfieri.  In  1831  he  obtained 
the  post  of  Professor  of  Italian  Literature  at 
King's  College,  which  he  occupied  till  1845,  when 
he  practically  lost  his  sight,  and  in  consequence 
resigned  the  chair ;  but  though  partially  deprived 
of  the  use  of  his  eyes,  he  retained  his  health  for  a 
considerable  time,  his  death  not  taking  place  till 
the  26th  April,  1854.    He  died  poor,  but  enriched 


The  Land  of  Exile  263 

Italy  to  the  last  with  songs  which  will  never  die, 
and  bequeathed  to  the  land  of  his  adoption, 
through  his  children,  a  rich  contribution  of  new 
strength  to  its  intellectual  and  artistic  life. 

This  is  not  the  time  or  place  to  speak  of  Ros- 
setti's  works ; 8  may  I  be  allowed,  however,  to  point 
out  in  a  few  words  his  ideal.  It  was  at  one  time 
a  political  and  religious  one.  "  Rossetti 's  prin- 
ciples, "  wrote  Carducci,  "  shine  clearly  in  each 
of  his  songs,  and  they  are:  the  unity  of  Italy;  a 
representative  monarchy  grounded  on  popular 
institutions;  the  abolition  of  the  secular  power 
and  spiritual  tyranny  of  Rome;  brotherhood 
among  oppressed  nations.' ' 

How  could  such  an  ideal  as  that  flash  into  Ros- 
setti's mind  when,  with  the  same  perfect  clearness 
at  least,  during  that  third  period  of  the  Italian 
revolution,  it  never  flashed  into  the  mind  of  other 
men,  who,  as  far  as  originality  of  thought,  excel- 
lency of  form  and  power  of  style  are  concerned, 
were  superior  to  him? 

Rossetti  obtained  his  ideal  from  the  Gospel. 


8  The  principal  works,  in  prose,  of  Gabriel  Rossetti  are: 
Comento  analitico  sulla  Divina  Commedia  (1826-1827),  Sullo 
spirito  Anti-papale  (1832),  II  mistero  dell'  amor  platonico 
rivelato  (1840),  La  Beatrice  di  Dante  (1852).  His  most  noted 
poetical  works  are:  Dio  e  Vuomo  (1840),  II  Veggente  in  soli- 
tudine    (1846),   Poesie    (1847),   L'Arpa  Evangelica    (1852). 


264:     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

The  great  poet,  driven  from  his  country  for  po- 
litical reasons,  through  God's  providence  found 
Christ  and  the  Gospel  in  the  land  of  his  exile.9 
For  twenty  years  he  gave  most  careful  attention 
to  spiritual  problems.  The  Bible  became  his  fa- 
vourite book.  Through  the  letter  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament he  found  the  living  person  of  Christ ;  and 
Christ  became  his  supporter  in  time  of  distress, 
his  light  in  the  time  of  his  blindness,  his  comfort 
in  the  supreme  crisis  of  his  last  hour.10 

After  Gabriele  Eossetti  comes  Luigi  Desanctis,11 
Doctor  of  Divinity  in  the  Church  of  Eome.  He 
was  born  in  Rome  on  the  31st  December,  1808; 
and  after  a  very  brilliant  ecclesiastical  career, 
he  was  called  in  1840  to  the  rectorship  of  the  Mad- 
dalena  della  Rotonda  in  Rome.  By  the  study  of 
the  Scriptures,  the  Fathers,  and  history,  he  was 
convinced  of  the  errors  of  Rome,  and  in  1847 
left  the  Church.  He  went  to  Malta;  there  he 
preached  the  Gospel  for  the  first  time  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Evangelical  church.     In  1848,  at 

8  When  on  the  4th  November,  1911,  the  bust  of  Gabriele  Ros- 
setti  was  unveiled  in  Rome  on  the  Pincio,  not  one  of  the  speakers 
thought  of  or  had  the  courage  to  point  out  the  fact  that  the 
poet,  in  1852,  in  one  of  his  religious  writings  (L'Eucarestia) 
had  said:  "With  this  writing  I  most  earnestly  intend  to  re- 
nounce Popery  and  to  adhere  to  the  true  Evangelical  doctrine." 

10  Giovanni  Luzzi:  Le  idee  religiose  di  Gabriele  Rossetti.  Flor- 
ence, 1903. 

uAlete:  Biografia  di  Luigi  Desanctis.    Firenze,  1870. 


The  Land  of  Exile  265 

Florence,  Leghorn,  and  Lucca,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  the  first  Tuscan  missionary  efforts,  as  I 
have  already  mentioned.  He  returned  to  Malta, 
and  in  1850  went  to  Geneva ;  thence  to  Paris  and 
London;  and  in  '56  and  '57  began  missionary 
work  in  Piedmont  and  Lombardy.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  me  here  to  retrace  the  missionary  vicis- 
situdes of  this  great  man  of  God  to  whom  Prot- 
estant Italy  owes  her  best  essays  on  dogmatics 
and  tracts  on  polemics.  When  he  passed  away  on 
the  31st  December,  1869,  at  Florence,  he  was  Pro- 
fessor of  Apologetics,  Polemics,  and  Practical 
Theology  in  the  Waldensian  Faculty  of  Divinity, 
which  had  called  him  to  the  chair  in  May, 
1868. 

Then  comes  Camillo  Mapei,  another  "  improv- 
visatore,"  and  from  the  same  part  of  Italy  as  Eos- 
setti :  Abruzzo.  He  was  born  in  1809  at  Nocciano, 
a  small  country  town.  He  became  a  Canon 
and  a  Professor  of  Dogmatics  and  Ethics  in  the 
Eoman  Church.  Brought  up  in  a  place  where 
superstition  was  rife  and  in  the  midst  of  degrad- 
ing political  slavery,  he  still  remained  a  believer 
but  without  Roman  bigotry,  and  devoted  himself 
to  the  Italian  liberal  cause.  In  1840,  when  perse- 
cuted by  the  police,  he  was  obliged  to  flee  and  find 
refuge  in  exile.     I  have  narrated  in  a  special 


i©' 


266  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy- 
volume  12  the  dramatic  history  of  his  perilous 
flight  and  of  his  adventurous  life.  I  have  recorded 
there  how  he  was  dogged  by  the  Inquisition  in 
Eome ;  how  he  was  nearly  drowned  at  sea ;  how  he 
was  attacked  by  Bedouins  in  Algiers ;  how,  reduced 
to  starvation,  he  became  a  shoeblack  in  Marseilles ; 
how,  when  in  Malta,  he  was  in  great  danger  of  his 
life;  how  he  was  expelled  from  there  and  went 
to  London ;  how  then  followed  his  religious  crisis, 
his  conversion  to  Christ,  his  utter  poverty,  his 
struggles,  his  apostolate  in  England,  Scotland,  Ire- 
land, and  his  peaceful  death  in  an  hospital  in  Dub- 
lin on  the  18th  April,  1853.  Protestant  Italy  owes 
to  Gabriele  Eossetti  first,  and  then  to  Camillo 
Mapei,  the  best  part  of  her  Christian  hymnology. 
Then  comes  Alessandro  Gavazzi,  the  giant  evan- 
gelist of  the  heroic  period  of  the  Italian  mission. 
He  was  born  in  Bologna  in  1809,  and  was  the  sec- 
ond of  twenty-five  children.  At  fifteen  he  entered 
the  Barnabite  Order,  and  in  1833,  on  account  of  his 
exceptional  eloquence,  was  appointed  preacher  of 
the  Order.  But  the  Order  was  too  narrow  a  sphere 
for  his  great  Christian  heart  and  patriotic  soul. 
He  was  in  Eome  when,  in  1848,  the  news  arrived  of 
the    triumph    of    the    revolution    in    Lombardy. 

"Giovanni  Luzzi:    Camillo  Mapei:  Esule.     Confessore.     Inno- 
grafo.     Firenze,  1895. 


The  Land  of  Exile  267 

Gavazzi  ascended  the  Capitol;  and  on  that  his- 
torical hill  commemorated  those  who  died  for  the 
fatherland,  and  stirred  the  people  up  to  a  state  of 
delirium.    Pius  IX  himself  appointed  him  chaplain 
to  the  volunteers  called  out  to  help  the  Lombard 
brethren;  and  while  Eome  was  preparing  soldiers 
and  arms,  Gavazzi  preached  in  the  Coliseum  with 
extraordinary  eloquence  almost  every  day  for  two 
whole  months.    Then  he  left  for  the  front,  wearing 
the  white  Barnabite  dress  and  with  the  red  cross 
on  his  bosom;  and  as  a  novel  Peter  the  Hermit,  he 
preached  everywhere  a  holy  war  against  the  for- 
eign dominion  in  Italy.    He  fought  as  a  hero  with 
word  and  sword;  and  while  the  exterminating 
angel  of  death  was  passing  over  the  fields  where 
the  destinies  of  Italy  were  being  decided,  Gavazzi 
brought    words    of    comfort   and   peace    to    the 
wounded  and  dying.     In  1849,  during  the  short 
but  glorious  period  of  the  Eoman  Kepublic,  he 
was  appointed  Inspector  of  the  Hospitals  and 
Head  Chaplain  of  the  Kepublican  army.    When 
the  Eepublic  fell,  he  escaped  with  his  faithful  com- 
panion Ugo  Bassi,  who,  betrayed  by  a  spy,  was 
shot  at  Bologna  by  the  Austrians.    More  fortunate 
than  his  friend,  Gavazzi  was  able  to  take  refuge 
in  the  house  of  the  American  Consul  in  Kome ;  and 
armed  with  a  passport  granted  by  the  French 


268     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

general  Oudinot,  he  embarked  and  arrived  safely 
in  London.  On  his  arrival  in  that  metropolis,  he 
began  to  give  lessons  in  Italian,  but  had  great  diffi- 
culty in  keeping  the  wolf  from  the  door.  After 
months  of  semi-starvation,  two  of  his  orations  to 
his  fellow-countrymen  were,  happily,  translated 
in  The  Daily  News  by  Father  Prout,  and  Gavazzi 
became  famous.  Then  he  went  through  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  Canada  and  the  United 
States,  for  three  or  four  years,  drawing  crowds 
to  the  largest  halls  and  enlisting  universal  sym- 
pathy by  his  monk's  garb,  his  fiery  delivery,  his 
eloquent  denunciation  of  Pius  IX  and  Eomish  op- 
pression, and  his  earnest  warnings  against  the 
Puseyite  viper  which  was  being  fondled  in  the 
generous  bosom  of  England.  And  let  it  be  said  to 
his  honour :  that  all  proceeds  of  his  lectures  were 
given  to  his  brother  exiles  and  to  the  Protestant 
schools  in  Turin.  In  1858,  as  a  result  of  close  study 
of  the  Bible  and  contact  with  earnest  Christians, 
the  greatest  event  in  Gavazzi 's  life  took  place :  his 
conversion  to  God  through  a  deep  conviction  of  sin 
and  a  humble  and  sincere  faith  in  his  Saviour. 
From  that  day  his  life  was  consecrated  to  evan- 
gelical work.  In  '60  he  followed  Garibaldi  in  his 
campaign  in  Sicily;  in  '66  and  '67  he  followed 
him  to  the  Tyrol  and  to  Mentana,  but  always  to 


The  Land  of  Exile  269 

attend  to  the  wounded,  to  preach  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  to  circulate  Bibles  and  tracts. 
When  not  so  engaged,  he  was  busy,  from  1858  to 
1870,  in  preaching  and  holding  missionary  meet- 
ings in  all  the  large  towns  of  his  native  land.  He 
did  so  with  such  a  happy  effect,  that  in  Italy  not 
many  years  ago  you  could  scarcely  meet  with  an 
individual  in  any  rank  of  life  who  did  not  know 
and  respect  the  great  name  of  Alessandro  Ga- 
vazzi.  He  was  called  home  suddenly  on  the  9th 
January,  1889,  in  Rome.  He  died  poor  as  he  had 
always  lived ;  he,  who  had  enriched  so  many  with 
the  inexhaustible  treasures  of  his  eloquence,  his 
faith,  and  his  large  heart. 

Time  fails  me  to  speak  of  Salvatore  Ferretti,13 
the  modest  evangelist,  the  indefatigable  London 
editor  of  Italian  literature  for  evangelical  propa- 
ganda, the  intimate  friend  of  Gabriele  Rossetti  and 
Camillo  Mapei,  the  philanthropist,  the  father  of 
the  fatherless,  the  brother  of  the  exiles; — of 
Filippo  Pistrucci,  the  noble  representative  of  a 
whole  family  of  heroes  whose  name  is  dear  to 
Italy;  a  Roman  by  birth  and  soul;  an  "  improv- 
visatore  "  also,  and  a  staunch  patriot  and  Chris- 
tian who  well  understood  that  the  secret  of  true 

"Salvatore  Ferretti,  son  of  Girolarao  Ferretti  and  Stella 
Stettiner,  was  born  in  Florence  on  the  15th  September,  1817,  and 
died  there  on  the  4th  May,  1874. 


270     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

and  lasting  redemption  for  Italy  was  to  be  found 
in  the  Gospel ; — and  of  a  crowd  of  others,  whom  I 
should  like  much  to  record  here;  but  the  few  I 
have  been  able  to  mention  will  suffice  to  give  you 
an  idea  of  what  kind  of  stuff  the  men  were  whom 
God,  in  ways  so  various,  dramatic,  and  often 
tragic,  called  and  prepared  to  announce  the  Word 
of  Life  to  Italy. 


Italian  emigration  during  the  classic  period  of 
the  redemption  of  Italy  was  evidently  either  po- 
litical, or  anti-papal,  or  political  and  anti-papal 
at  one  and  the  same  time;  it  became  evangelical 
only  little  by  little.  The  principal  centres  where 
that  gradual  transformation  took  place,  may  be 
reduced  to  three:  Malta,  Geneva,  and  London. 
To  mention  them  thus  is  not  to  mention  them  in 
chronological  order,  but  according  to  their  respec- 
tive importance. 

In  fact,  the  least  important  of  the  three  was  the 
Maltese  centre.  On  account  of  its  geographical 
position,  Malta  was  the  first  and  nearest  refuge 
for  ex-priests  and  ex-monks  flying  from  the 
clutches  of  the  Eoman  Church.  The  English 
friends  of  the  Italian  evangelical  mission  had  in 
1841  already  procured  the  means  to  found  an 


The  Land  of  Exile  271 

Italian  church  in  Malta.  At  her  head  was  placed 
Giacinto  Achilli,  an  ex-Carmelite  monk,  who,  how- 
ever, did  not  leave  too  good  a  name  in  the  history 
of  the  mission  there.  Achilli,  Leonini,  Crespi, 
Moscardi,  were  some  of  the  ex-Eoman  ecclesiastics 
who  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Italian  church  of 
Malta.  In  May,  1846,  a  monthly  religious  paper 
appeared  in  the  island  for  the  first  time,  called  the 
Indicator  e  (the  Indicator).  It  lived  two  years 
only.  Desanctis  published  in  it  his  letter  to  the 
Eoman  authorities  in  which  he  stated  the  reasons 
which  compelled  him  to  leave  the  Church  of 
Borne,1*  and  four  other  letters  addressed  to  his 
bishop,  Cardinal  Patrizi.  When  the  Indicatore 
ceased  to  appear,  Desanctis  started  the  Cattolico 
Cristiano  (the  Catholic  Christian),  on  the  1st  No- 
vember, 1848,  which  excited  a  great  sensation  in 
Malta  and  elsewhere,  and  had  the  honour  of  being 
censured  by  the  Bishop  of  Malta.  During  De- 
sanctis' residence  in  the  island,  the  Maltese  church 
flourished  as  she  had  never  done  before  nor  ever 
did  after.  But  the  ground  was  hard ;  the  islanders 
had  not  changed  much  since  the  days  of  St.  Paul, 
and   superstition   and  immorality   ruled  in   the 

"He  published  it  on  the  1st  October,  1847.  It  was  the  letter  by 
which  he  severed  himself  from  Rome  and  which  he  wrote  from 
Ancona  to  Father  Togni,  General  of  the  Order  "  dei  Chierici 
Regolari." 


272     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

island.  Achilli,  Desanctis  and  the  other  ex-priests 
and  ex-monks  could  find  no  one  willing  to  house 
them.  Bakers  and  butchers  refused  to  sell  them 
bread  and  meat,  and  all  because  the  poor  exiles 
had  left  the  Roman  Church!  After  the  fall  of 
the  Roman  Eepublic  in  1849  many  of  those  who 
had  heroically  defended  it,  sought  refuge  in  Malta. 
Would  you  believe  it?  They  could  scarcely  land, 
as  the  islanders  wanted  to  kill  all  the  supposed 
prof aners  of  the  holy  city.  ' l  The  Maltese, ' '  wrote 
one  of  those  exiles,  "  are  so  grossly  superstitious 
that,  for  instance,  they  do  not  pray  to  saints  or 
Madonnas  for  rain  in  times  of  drought,  but  to  the 
souls  in  purgatory;  and  they  do  so  for  business 
reasons ;  the  souls  in  purgatory  assure  an  answer 
within  three  days  of  prayer.  They  are,  therefore, 
much  less  exacting  than  the  saints  and  the  Ma- 
donnas, who  take  their  own  time  to  respond." 
No  wonder  that  the  evangelical  missionary  work 
could  never  become  deeply  rooted  in  such  a  re- 
fractory island. 

The  Genevan  centre  was  much  more  attractive. 
Geneva  had  already  an  Italian  church  in  1542, 
in  the  century  of  the  Reformation;  Bernardino 
Ochino,  the  great  converted  friar,  was  the  first  who 
had  then  the  privilege  of  being  called  to  gather 
together  his  fellow-countrymen  and  to  be  their 


The  Land  of  Exile  273 

pastor.  The  church  passed  through  a  dangerous 
crisis  when,  in  1545,  Ochino  was  obliged  to  leave ; 
but  God  sent  another  man:  Galeazzo  Caracciolo, 
who  came  to  Geneva  on  the  8th  June,  1551,  to  con- 
tinue the  work.  In  1552  the  Genevan  Italian  com- 
munity was  for  the  first  time  regularly  organ- 
ised. On  account  of  the  numerous  immigrants 
from  Lucca  in  1555,  the  Italian  church  there  be- 
came more  important  than  ever ;  so  much  so  that 
the  need  of  a  more  complete  system  of  organisa- 
tion was  felt.  This  was  in  1556 ; 15  then  followed 
a  sad  period  of  dogmatic  disputes  and  of  internal 
discords;  notwithstanding,  the  church  continued 
to  live  and  to  spread  beneficial  influence  around 
until  the  Italian  element  disappeared,  completely 
absorbed  by  the  Genevan  population. 

15  The  Italian-Genevan  Church  was,  in  1556,  organised  on  a 
purely  congregationalist  basis,  and  had  a  general  assembly 
(congregazione  generate)  composed  of  all  the  Italians  inscribed 
on  the  roll  of  the  church.  This  assembly  elected  all  the  office- 
bearers of  the  church.  To  the  minister  {ministro)  a  catechist 
(catechista)  was  added.  The  lay  element  was  represented  by 
four  elders  ( seniori )  and  by  four  deacons  ( diaconi ) .  One  of 
these  last  four  was  the  treasurer  (borsiero) .  These  officers  con- 
stituted the  consistory  (collegio)  of  the  Italian  Church.  Elders 
and  deacons  were  elected  for  a  year  and  could  be  re-elected.  To 
them  was  entrusted  the  care  of  visiting  the  poor  and  the  sick. 
Every  elder  had  the  charge  of  a  quarter  (quartiere)  of  the  town. 
The  congregation  had,  besides,  the  church  musician  (il  musico 
delta  chiesa).  The  Italian  Genevan  Church  had  at  the  beginning 
a  collection  of  50  Psalms.  The  collection,  in  1556,  was  enlarged 
and  printed. 


274     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Geneva,  which  had  opened  wide  her  arms  to  wel- 
come the  exiles  during  the  century  of  the  Kef  orma- 
tion,  again  opened  them  to  welcome  the  new  exiles 
in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  These 
exiles,  banished  from  their  own  land,  found  spirit- 
ual freedom  in  the  hospitable  city  of  Geneva,  and 
inaugurated  there,  on  the  10th  October,  1853,  the 
1  *  Italian  Evangelical  Community. ' '  Forty  mem- 
bers of  this  community  sent  out  a  warm  appeal 
to  the  public  on  the  10th  November,  1853,  contain- 
ing a  brief,  clear,  and  decided  Evangelical  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  which  concluded  as  follows: 
"  In  1542,  in  this  very  city,  the  Italian  exiles  who 
fled  from  the  stake  with  a  Bible  in  their  hand  and 
Christ  in  their  heart,  laid  the  foundation  of  an 
Italian  church.  This  church  was  greatly  blessed, 
she  cared  for  many,  and  helped  many  in  their 
journey  heavenwards,  until  at  last  the  Italian  ele- 
ment was  blended  with  the  Swiss.  The  present 
Italian  Evangelical  Community  aspires  to  con- 
tinue that  beautiful  patriotic  tradition  and  to  raise 
a  new  and  spiritual  church.  Who  knows  if  this 
church  is  not  destined  to  become  a  refuge  to  new 
believers  and  a  haven  of  rest  to  fresh  victims  of 
papal  intolerance  which,  though  seemingly  weary, 
is  not  yet  satiated  with  human  victims!  Chris- 
tian friends  of  all  lands,  pray  that  this  wish  of 


The  Land  of  Exile  275 

ours  may  be  realised;  receive  our  brotherly  kiss, 
and  may  the  peace  of  the  Lord  be  with  you!  " 

The  most  important  centre  of  the  Italian  mis- 
sion, however,  was  London. 

At  the  time  we  are  speaking  of,  the  first  institu- 
tion we  find  in  this  centre  is  the  ' '  Scuola  gratuita 
italiana"  (the  "  Italian  Free  School  "),  founded 
by  Giuseppe  Mazzini  on  the  10th  November,  1841. 
It  lived  and  flourished  from  '41  to  '48;  then  it 
stagnated,  giving  only  intermittent  signs  of  life. 
At  the  time  of  the  exile,  it  was  the  connecting  link 
between  the  evangelical  movement  which  aimed  at 
redeeming  Italy  morally  and  spiritually,  and  the 
political  movement  which  aimed  at  redeeming  the 
land  from  the  yoke  of  the  tyrants  and  from  all 
foreign  oppression.  Two  names  are  especially 
connected  with  the  beginning  of  the  school:  Giu- 
seppe Mazzini  and  Filippo  Pistrucci.  Pistrucci 
represented  the  evangelical  idea;  Mazzini  the 
political,  because  Mazzini  never  could  conceive  the 
two  as  separated  from  each  other. 

What  was  the  aim  of  the  school? 

"  The  school/ '  said  Mazzini,  "  was  intended  to 
give  moral  and  intellectual  instruction  to  several 
hundreds  of  children  and  semi-civilised  organ- 
grinders  who,  after  having  laid  down  their  organs, 
used  to  come  and  sit  on  the  school  benches  for 


276     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

half  an  hour  in  the  evening,  between  nine  and 
ten.  At  first,  driven  by  sheer  curiosity  and  almost 
afraid,  they  peeped  into  our  very  modest  rooms ; 16 
then,  little  by  little,  conquered  by  the  loving  man- 
ners of  the  teachers,  they  became  more  amenable, 
and  finished  by  fraternising  cheerfully  with  their 
fellows,  and  ended  by  experiencing  a  new  feeling 
of  dignity  and  pride,  awakened  by  the  idea  of 
being  able  to  return  to  their  country,  well  edu- 
cated.' '  Every  Sunday  Pistrucci  conversed  with 
the  pupils  on  moral  subjects  and  especially  on  the 
duties  of  man.  Each  anniversary  of  the  school 
was  celebrated  with  solemnity.  All  the  pupils, 
about  300,  were  present;  the  exiles,  too,  were 
naturally  invited  together  with  the  friends  of  the 
work;  prizes  were  distributed  to  the  most  diligent 
and  most  regular,  which  consisted  of  Bibles,  New 
Testaments,  other  books,  and  medals.  Mazzini 
himself  distributed  them.  I  dearly  love  to  record 
all  these  facts;  because,  though  it  is  true  that 
Giuseppe  Mazzini  was  not  a  Christian  in  the  or- 
thodox sense  of  the  word,  still  we  know  that  he 
drew  his  highest  ideals  from  the  Bible,  and  that 
from  his  youth  he  loved  the  Bible  above  all  other 
books.  When  he  had  to  protect  his  school  in  Lon- 
don from  the  iniquitous  attacks  of  the  priests,  he 

"The  school,  in  London,  had  its  seat  at  5  Hatton  Gardens. 


The  Land  of  Exile  277 

most  emphatically  affirmed  that  he  wanted  the 
Italians  to  think  seriously  about  religion,  to 
abandon  the  corrupt  practices  of  Rome,  and 
to  embrace  the  religion  which  Christ  had  given  to 
humanity. 

The  press  also  had  its  mission  in  London ;  and 
well  worthy  of  mention  is  the  heroic  monthly  Eco 
di  Savonarola  (the  Echo  of  Savonarola),  which 
was  launched  and  edited  by  the  valiant  Salvatore 
Ferretti,  appeared  regularly  from  1847  to  1854, 
and  afterwards,  intermittently,  until  1860.  It  bore 
as  a  motto :  Acts  xvii.  11,  and  the  words  of  Savo- 
narola :  "  Italia  renovabitur. ' '  The  first  contribu- 
tors were  nine  ex-priests  or  ex-monks  and  three 
laymen,  namely:  Gabriele  Rossetti,  Filippo  Pi- 
strucci,  and  a  certain  Sperandio  Tacchella. 

What  did  the  paper  aim  at! 

"  Our  aim,"  wrote  Salvatore  Ferretti,  "  is  to 
fight  the  abuses  of  the  Roman  Church,  infidelity, 
indifference,  hypocrisy;  to  proclaim  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Gospel  of  love  and  peace  in  all 
its  purity,  such  as  it  has  been  revealed  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  which  are  and  shall  always  be  the 
Word  of  eternal  life.  The  Echo  of  Savonarola  has 
for  its  aim  the  bringing  back  to  the  simplicity  of 
apostolic  times  of  those  Italians  who  have  been 
led  astray,  leaving  at  the  same  time  their  con- 


278     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

science  free  as  far  as  concerns  other  secondary 
matters  not  contradictory  to  the  fundamental 
truth  of  Christianity.' ' 

In  1852  the  Newspaper  Press  Directory  had 
words  of  high  praise  for  the  Echo,  and  even  Punch 
took  notice  of  it.  It  said : ' '  There  is  in  London  a 
small  but  bold  brother  of  ours,  called  the  Echo  of 
Savonarola.  We  believe  they  have  given  him  that 
name,  because  it  will  answer.' '  The  paper  was 
issued  at  the  cost  of  enormous  sacrifices.  All  who 
wrote  in  it  did  so  without  payment ;  and  the  editor, 
after  four  years  of  heavy  labour,  was  $150  out  of 
pocket.  The  Italians  able  to  subscribe  were  few  in 
the  land  of  exile ;  and  there  were  then  few  in  Eng- 
land able  to  read  an  Italian  paper;  besides,  it  was 
sent  gratis  throughout  Italy,  America,  Malta, 
France,  Switzerland,  Turkey,  Greece,  wherever 
the  editor  knew  that  some  of  his  fellow-country- 
men were. 

It  was  easy  to  foresee  that  Rome  would  de- 
nounce the  paper.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the 
thunderbolts  of  the  Vatican  and  the  lynx-eyed 
political  and  religious  Inquisition,  the  Echo  found 
its  way  to  the  very  centre  of  Italy  and  even  into 
the  Vatican,  whence  the  editor  received  "  letters 
of  encouragement  and  of  true  Christian  sym- 
pathy. ' '    But  excommunication  had  to  come,  and 


The  Land  of  Exile  279 

it  did  about  the  end  of  1847 ;  and  Salvatore  Fer- 
retti,  in  January,  1848,  wrote :  ' '  We  believe  our 
readers  will  be  pleased  to  know  that  the  Echo  of 
Savonarola  and  its  writers  have  had  the  honour 
of  papal  excommunication  bestowed  upon  them, 
and  have  had  their  names  written  '  ad  perpetuam 
memoriam  '  in  the  so-called  '  Index  of  Prohibited 
Books. '  Notwithstanding,  the  Echo  of  Savonarola 
will  continue  to  circulate  as  usual  in  every  part 
of  the  earth  where  Italians  are.  We  consider  this 
excommunication  as  a  special  blessing  from  the 
Lord,  for  experience  has  taught  us  over  and  over 
again  that  to  prohibit  a  book  is  the  surest  way  to 
make  it  read  all  the  more  widely.' ' 

The  exiles  in  London  grouped  themselves  also 
into  a  society  which  they  called  the  ' '  Italian  Mu- 
tual Help  Society.' '  It  was  founded  on  the  18th 
July,  1847.  The  first  report  issued  by  the  society 
bears  the  names  of  85  Italians,  all  subscribers ;  and 
the  list  at  the  end  of  the  report,  instead  of  being 
headed  as  it  usually  is:  "  Contributions  "  or 
"  List  of  Subscribers,"  etc.,  was  headed  thus: 
"  Brethren."  The  spirit  with  which  the  whole 
society  was  animated  is  expressed  in  the  words  of 
the  report,  which  begins:  "  This  society  was 
started  in  compliance  with  the  doctrine  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  says :  '  A  new  commandment  I  give 


280     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another;  as  I  have  loved 
you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another.  By  this  shall 
all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have 
love  one  to  another.'  This  society  is,  therefore, 
grounded  on  Christian  brotherhood,  tolerance, 
and  freedom;  and  these  principles  must  be  the 
rule  of  every  brother,  in  public  and  in  private,  in 
his  relations  to  other  brethren,  and  in  all  commit- 
tee meetings.' f 

The  exiles  had  also  a  church  in  London.  On 
the  6th  July,  1847,  the  ex-Dominican  Giacinto 
Achilli  advocated  the  cause  of  the  Italian  church 
in  Exeter  Hall.  In  two  consecutive  meetings,17 
presided  over  by  G.  B.  Di  Menna,  an  ex-Boman 
theologian,  all  was  settled:  the  Confession  of 
faith  (perfectly  orthodox),  the  organisation  (in- 
clining towards  the  Plymouth  type),  and  the 
liturgy  (modelled  on  the  Presbyterian  pattern). 
The  church  was  founded;  and  the  intimations, 
which  were  circulated  among  the  London  exiles, 
ran  thus :  '  *  Italians  residing  in  London  are  in- 
vited to  attend  the  meeting  which  takes  place 
every  Sunday  at  7  Sidmouth  Street,  Gray's-Inn- 
Boad,  at  5.30  p.m.  After  the  prayers,  the  singing 
of  hymns  and  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 

"The  meetings  were  held  at  2  Chapel  Street,  Bedford  Row, 
on  the  25th  July  and  on  the  1st  August,  1847. 


The  Land  of  Exile  281 

a  discourse  is  always  delivered  on  evangelical 
truths.  .  .  .  All  those  who  no  longer  believe  in 
the  imposture  of  Eome  and  love  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  are  invited  to  the  above  mentioned 
chapel.  The  worship  held  there  is  as  it  ought  to 
be :  *  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  .  .  . '  Italians !  Be- 
fore trying  to  reform  your  fatherland,  reform 
yourselves.  What  shall  it  profit  if  you  shall  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  your  own  souls?  Think 
of  it." 

The  church  that  was  born  thus  in  the  land  of 
exile  and  that  gathered  around  her  the  best  part 
of  the  Italian  emigrants  in  London,  was,  accord- 
ing to  her  founders'  idea,  destined  not  to  live  and 
die  in  the  land  of  exile,  but  to  cross  the  Channel 
and  the  Alps  and  to  fix  her  tents  in  Italy  as  soon 
as  political  circumstances  should  allow. 

What  ideal  had  she  in  view? 

Salvatore  Ferretti,  who,  with  Camillo  Mapei, 
was  one  of  the  columns  of  the  London  church, 
stated  it  thus:  "  We  do  not  want  to  establish  in 
Italy  an  English,  French,  or  Swiss  Protestant 
Church,  but  an  Italian  Christian  reformed  Church. 
How  wonderful  that  is !  The  first  cry  for  reform 
heard  in  Italy  was  that  of  Savonarola:  Martin 
Luther  did  nothing  but  what  the  Italian  prophet 
had  advised  should  be  done.    And  what  is  still 


282     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

more  wonderful  is  that  while  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  had  been  corrupted  throughout  Europe,  it 
had  kept  its  apostolic  purity  in  Italy.  When  all 
Christianity  was  plunged  in  darkness,  the  light  of 
the  Gospel  was  shining  among  the  simple  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Piedmontese  valleys/ ' 

According  to  the  ideal  of  those  London  emi- 
grants the  Italian  church  which  they  had  founded 
in  the  land  of  exile,  should  not  only  be  in  time 
transplanted  into  Italy,  but  should  unite  there 
with  the  great  and  ancient  mother-church,  the 
church  of  the  valleys.  So  when,  on  the  15th  De- 
cember, 1853,  the  Waldensian  church  was  inaugu- 
rated in  Turin,  which  the  Edict  of  Emancipation 
had  made  possible,  Gabriele  Rossetti,  the  inspired 
psalmist  of  the  exiles,  thus  sang: 

"  S'io  non  fossi  si  vecchio,  e  gli  occhi  miei 
non  fosser  tai  che  quasi  nulla  io   scerno, 
come  in  pellegrinaggio  avido  andrei 
in  quel  bel  Tempio  ad  adorar  l'Eterno; 
e  manderei  dal  cor  questa  preghiera 
ch'io  godo  replicar  mattina  e  sera: 


Sia  questa  Chiesa,  cara  all'  alma  mia, 
Chiesa  di  tutta  Italia.    E  cosi  sia." 


(Were  I  not  so  old,  and  were  not  my  eyes 
such  that  almost  naught  can  I  discern, 
how  eagerly  should  I,  as  in  pilgrimage,  go, 
to  that  beautiful  Temple,  to  worship  the  Eternal 


The  Land  of  Exile  283 

and  from  my  heart  this  prayer  should  I  utter, 
which  morning  and  evening  I  love  to  repeat: 


May  this  Church,  that  is  so  beloved  to  my  soul, 
become  the  Church  of  all  Italy.    Amen.) 

The  intimations  circulated  among  the  Italians 
in  London  said  that  at  the  meetings,  after  the 
prayers  and  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures, 
"  Hymns  would  be  sung." 

What  hymns? 

To  the  indefatigable  activity  of  Salvatore  Fer- 
retti  the  Italian  church  of  London  owed  a  Col- 
lection of  Hymns  which  occupies  an  important 
place  in  the  history  of  the  Italian  evangelical 
hymnology.  The  Hymnary  I  am  alluding  to  con- 
tained 60  hymns,  9  Psalms,  and  12  original  hymn 
tunes.  Of  the  60  hymns,  33  were  composed  by 
Mapei ;  8  by  Ferretti,  1  was  sent  by  an  anonymous 
poet  from  Italy,  2  were  taken  from  the  Veggente 
in  solitudine  {The  Seer  in  Solitude)  by  Gabriele 
Eossetti,  and  16  were  original  hymns  by  Kossetti. 
The  9  Psalms  were  either  free  versions  of 
biblical  Psalms,  or  original  Psalms  by  Mapei, 
Margolfo,  and  Gabriele  Eossetti.  The  12  hymn 
tunes  were  composed  by  Catrufo  and  Minasi,  two 
Neapolitans;  Salvadori,  a  Florentine;  Aspa,  a 
Sicilian,  and  Bertioli,  a  Tyrolese.    The  Hymnary 


284     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

was,  therefore,  truly  Italian,  with  original  words 
and  original  music. 

The  Italian  evangelical  hymnology,  the  lyric 
expression  of  what  overflowed  from  the  hearts  of 
the  Italians  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  after  they  had  left  the  Roman  Church  for 
the  purity  of  the  Gospel,  was  born  during  the 
revolution  and  first  saw  light  in  the  land  of  exile. 
The  best  hymns  among  those  which  are  sung  at 
the  present  time  in  evangelical  meetings  through- 
out the  whole  Peninsula  were  composed  in  Lon- 
don ;  there  they  stirred  the  hearts  of  patriots  long- 
ing to  see  Italy  emancipated  not  only  politically 
but  also  morally.  Then  they  crossed  the  Channel 
to  bring  comfort  to  the  conventicles  of  brethren  in 
Italy  during  the  wretched  times  of  the  slavery  of 
conscience ;  and  they  kept  alive  in  the  hearts  of  our 
martyrs  the  hope  and  trust  for  those  better  days 
which  they  did  not  see,  but  fondly  welcomed  from 
afar. 

The  fact  that  the  Italian  evangelical  hymnology 
was  born  during  the  revolution  and  first  saw  its 
light  in  the  land  of  exile  explains  the  reason  why 
it  lacks  that  deep  sense  of  piety  which  moves  souls 
who  have  arrived  at  the  maturity  of  their  Chris- 
tian life.  The  hymnologists  of  the  epic  age  of  the 
Italian  mission  were  patriots  and  fugitives,  who 


The  Land  of  Exile  285 

had  reached  Christ  through  their  political  strug- 
gles and  with  hearts  full  of  abhorrence  for  the 
Papacy  and  those  foreign  tyrants  who  had  done 
their  best  to  see  them  hang  from  the  gibbet  or 
rot  in  jail.  Those  early  hymns  are  not  lacking 
in  an  eager  desire  for  the  Divine,  an  inspiration 
towards  Christ,  a  longing  for  the  heavenly  Home ; 
no,  but  more  than  all  that,  you  feel  in  them  the 
craving  for  their  far-away  beloved  Italy,  and  an 
ardent  desire  to  see,  some  time  or  other,  the  Vati- 
can crushed  and  the  dear  fatherland  freed  from 
the  clutches  of  Italian  and  foreign  relentless 
fiends.  They  have  scarcely  any  idea  of  the  soar- 
ing, throbbing  abandonment  of  a  life  developing 
in  the  atmosphere  of  spiritual  experience  and  of 
mystical  union  with  Christ.  Christ  lived,  yes,  in 
those  hymnologists ;  but  their  Christian  life  had 
had  neither  time  nor  opportunity  to  ripen.  The 
churches,  however,  which  have  since  arisen  and 
multiplied,  have  developed  spiritually  in  a  normal 
way;  and  their  successive  Hymnaries,  that  is  to 
say,  the  thermometers  of  their  spiritual  life,  have 
steadily  marked  points  higher  and  higher  on  the 
scale  of  their  spirituality  and  of  the  perfecting  of 
their  Christian  sentiment.  And  the  further  they 
progress  in  that  direction  under  the  omnipotent 
action  of  the  Spirit  of  God  the  more  their  hymnody 


286     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

will  become  what  it  really  ought  to  be :  a  heavenly 
voice  answering  to  the  deepest  needs  of  the  hu- 
man heart;  a  cry  emancipating  man  from  the 
slavery  of  egoism ;  an  inspiration  springing  from 
a  pure  and  sacred  love;  a  mysterious  "  some- 
thing "  that  in  the  midst  of  so  many  different 
nationalities  and  so  many  religious  confessions  re- 
stores the  divine  harmony  which  we,  with  our  poor 
hearts  and  with  our  narrow-mindedness,  seem  but 
to  disturb  continually. 


VII 


MODEENISM,  OR  THE  PRESENT  EFFORT 
FOR  REFORM  WITHIN  THE  ROMAN 
CHURCH 


VII 


MODERNISM,  OR  THE  PRESENT  EFFORT 
FOR  REFORM  WITHIN  THE  ROMAN 
CHURCH 

THE  term  "  modernism  "  is  quite  familiar 
to  us  all.  Every  one  talks  of  modernism; 
discusses  it;  but  .  .  .  what  is  modernism? 
A  short,  exact,  comprehensive  definition  of  it 
is  impossible  to  give,  for  it  is  a  complex  phenom- 
enon; and  a  conglomeration  of  several  different 
phenomena  cannot  be  defined  by  a  single  formula. 
Nor  can  the  term  "  modernism  "  itself  lead  us  to 
a  precise  conception  of  this  great  movement. 
The  term  was  not  bestowed  on  the  movement  by 
the  modernists.  As  the  name  "  Christian," 
whether  of  Latin  or  Greek  origin,  was  undoubt- 
edly coined  by  the  pagan  inhabitants  of  Antioch 
to  censure  and  despise  the  disciples  of  Christ,  so 
the  name  "  modernism  "  has  been  coined  by  the 
enemies  of  the  new  movement  to  discredit  and 
condemn  it.    This  is  why  the  name  does  not  help 

289 


290     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

us  in  the  least  to  understand  what  the  movement  is. 
The  Jesuit  fathers  of  Eome  invented  the  term. 
Leo  XIII  and  Pius  X  got  hold  of  it  and  gave  it 
a  kind  of  theological  and  ecclesiastical  consecra- 
tion. The  official  Eoman  Catholic  press  received 
it  from  the  hands  of  the  two  Popes,  it  came  into 
use  at  once,  and  is  now  still  used  to  distinguish 
and  condemn  everybody  and  everything  that  is 
not  in  perfect  communion  of  thought  and  ideals 
with  the  Vatican.  Higher  criticism,  Christian 
democracy,  loyalty  to  a  united  Italy  with  Rome 
as  the  capital,  aspirations  to  a  reform  within  the 
Church,  longings  for  a  purer  and  more  spiritual 
form  of  Christianity,  all  that  and  more  is  ' '  mod- 
ernism for  the  Vatican.' '  In  the  estimation  of 
the  Curia  modernism  is  just  "  a  huge  covering 
that  hides  a  multitude  of  sins.,,  In  fact,  the 
Vatican  has  defined  it  as  "  a  satanic  cry  of  re- 
bellion against  religion  from  the  bosom  of  the 
Church."  Such  a  definition  is  an  exaggeration 
due  to  nothing  but  fear.  In  reality  "modern- 
ism "  is  a  cry  of  rebellion  not  against  religion, 
but  against  the  tyranny  of  the  Curia;  it  is  an 
aspiration  to  a  reform  within  the  Church  of  Rome ; 
a  longing  for  a  purer  form  of  religion,  for  a  re- 
turn to  the  primitive  simplicity  of  faith,  for  a 


Modernism  291 

wider,  higher  interpretation  of  Christianity  more 
compatible  with  modern  conscience* 


Let  no  one  be  deceived  about  the  importance 
of  the  movement.  The  very  fact  that  the  Vatican 
is  afraid  of  it  should  be  sufficient  to  prove  that  it 
is  serious  and  menacing.  But  much  more  than 
that.  In  an  article  I  wrote  in  January,  1911,  for 
the  Hibbert  Journal,1  explaining  the  importance 
of  this  movement,  I  said :  ' l  Modernism  is  not  a 
system;  it  is  the  synthesis  of  several  new  direc- 
tions taken  by  theological  and  ecclesiastical 
thought  in  the  Roman  Church  ' ' ;  and  I  traced  out 
five  of  these  different  directions:  (1)  That  fol- 
lowed by  a  group  of  noble  souls  who  grieve  to 
see  popular  piety  attacked  by  the  disease  of  an 
exaggerated  and  hysterical  sentimentalism,  and 
fossilised  into  a  nerveless  formalism;  (2)  that  fol- 
lowed by  a  group  of  still  more  daring  modernists, 
who  have  already  completely  disposed  of  the  ques- 
tion of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope,  and  who 
say  frankly:  "  In  the  Church  a  reform  now  is 
necessary  to  lead  back  the  flock  of  Christ  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel  ";  (3)  that  followed  by  the 

1  Prof.   Giovanni   Luzzi,   D.D.:    The    Roman    Catholic    Church 
in  Italy  at  the  Present  Hour.    Hibbert  Journal,  January,  1911. 


292     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

hypercritical  modernists,  who  have  been  spiritually 
nourished  by  German  rationalistic  theology;  (4) 
that  followed  by  the  group  of  modernists  of  the 
Christian  Democracy  led  by  Romolo  Murri;  and 
finally  (5)  that  followed  by  a  group  of  practical 
modernists  anxious  to  lead  the  people  back  to  the 
true  source  of  spiritual  life  and  to  place  their  con- 
sciences again  in  immediate  contact  with  the 
Christ  of  the  Gospel.  They  rightly  thought  this 
was  the  only  way  to  arrive  at  the  spiritualisation 
of  worship  and  the  restoration  of  dogmatic 
formula  which  the  Church  longs  for,  and  they, 
therefore,  founded  the  Pious  Society  of  St. 
Jerome  for  the  spread  of  the  Holy  Gospels.' ' 
Scarcely  two  years  have  elapsed  since  I  wrote  the 
article,  and  my  division  into  five  directions  does 
not  hold  good  any  longer,  for,  while  the  first  two 
still  remain  unaffected,  I  may  safely  say  that  there 
is  no  more  a  question  of  the  other  three.  The 
hypercritics  have  progressed;  and  have  pro- 
gressed so  far  as  to  consider  Christianity  a  form 
of  religion  already  superseded,  and  the  Church 
as  unworthy  of  their  serious  consideration. 
Christian  democracy,  abandoned  as  it  has  been  by 
Komolo  Murri,  and  so  left  without  a  leader,  has 
been  disbanded.  The  Pious  Society  of  St.  Jerome 
is  dead  and  buried.    One  would,  therefore,  almost 


Modernism  293 

feel  inclined  to  believe  that  modernism  is  dead 
also;  that  it  has  only  been  a  dream,  a  beautiful 
dream,  but  nothing  more  than  a  dream. 

To  think  so  would  indeed  simply  be  the  grossest 
of  errors. 

Modernism  lives,  it  is  stronger  than  ever,  it  has 
invaded  the  whole  of  the  clergy  and  the  whole 
of  the  Church,  and  it  has  won  the  sympathy  of 
a  large  and  thoughtful  part  of  the  laity  which  a 
few  years  ago  smiled  with  compassion  when  the 
term  "  modernism  "  was  mentioned.  Leone 
Caetani,  a  member  of  the  Italian  Parliament  and 
one  of  that  great  Eoman  family  who  claims  as  an 
ancestor  Boniface  VIII,  says :  ' '  Modernism,  the 
wood-worm,  the  deadly  bacillus  which  will  eventu- 
ally kill  papal  Catholicism,  is  the  purest  expres- 
sion of  the  present  religious  conscience.  Modern- 
ism is  not  a  school,  but  a  vague,  general  tendency, 
an  indefinable  sentiment,  without  exact  limits, 
without  any  settled  goal,  without  discipline,  and 
without  leaders.  Whoever  has  the  least  shadow 
of  a  doubt  concerning  the  most  insignificant  part 
of  the  religious  edifice  of  Roman  Catholicism,  is 
already  a  modernist.  The  vagueness  of  its  char- 
acter constitutes  its  greatest  strength,  inasmuch 
as  it  shows  the  universality  of  its  tendency  and 
the  impossibility  of  fighting  it  effectually.    It  is 


294     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

everywhere  and  nowhere;  it  is  unseizable,  but 
always  more  alive  and  evident  than  ever.  The 
Church  of  Rome,  in  pursuing  modernism,  is  pur- 
suing her  own  shadow,  inseparable  from  her  and 
at  the  same  time  intangible.  Modernism  is  slowly 
penetrating  into  the  very  Vatican  and  uncon- 
sciously settling  in  the  minds  of  those  very  men 
who  attack  reform  tendencies  most  fiercely. 
Pius  X  himself,  by  his  Motu  proprio  2  promulgated 
in  1911,  in  which  he  postpones  to  the  following 
Sunday  many  special  religious  feasts  falling  on 
week  days,  has  shown  himself  to  be  a  modernist 
inasmuch  as  he  has  acknowledged  the  moral  and 
material  harm  done  to  religion  by  the  super- 
abundance of  feast-days  and  has  at  the  same  time 
recognised  that  the  attendance  at  and  the  rever- 
ence for  them  are  far  from  being  what  they  used 
to  be.  Papal  anti-modernism  is  not  a  war  against 
a  doctrine,  or  a  defence  of  true  religion,  but  a 
desperate  attempt  to  preserve  unshaken  papal 
autocratic  authority  in  ecclesiastical  matters  and 
its  spiritual  dominion  over  believers,  for  the 
Church  of  Rome  is  threatened  in  her  doctrine 
and  in  her  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  any  calm 
and  impartial  observer  can  see  upon  her  forehead 

'The  difference  between  an  Encyclica  and  a  Motu  proprio  is 
this:  the  Encyclica  deals  only  with  doctrine;  the  Motu  proprio 
deals  with  discipline  and  practical  matters. 


Modernism  295 

the  mark  of  a  deadly  moral  disease;  a  disease 
which  is  driving  her  to  suicidal  madness;  and 
the  suicidal  madness  with  which  the  spirit  of  the 
Vatican  is  now  possessed,  shows  itself  above  all  in 
the  war  it  has  declared  against  all  new  currents 
of  religious  belief."3 


Is  this  modernism  a  new  phenomenon?  No;  it 
is  the  most  recent  phase  of  the  antagonism  be- 
tween two  tendencies,  which  in  a  more  or  less  acute 
form  is  found  in  every  period  of  Church  history. 
We  have  already  seen  it  in  our  preceding  chap- 
ters: Hermas  and  Hippolytus  first;  then  Jovinian 
and  Vigilantius,  Claudius  and  Ratherius;  in  the 
Mediseval  Ages,  Arnold  of  Brescia,  the  Waldenses, 
St.  Francis  and  the  Franciscan  movement,  St. 
Dominic;  at  the  time  of  the  Renaissance,  Dante, 
Savonarola,  Michelangelo ;  all  the  martyrs  of  the 
Protestant  revolution  in  Italy  and  in  Europe;  the 
heroes  of  the  first  dawn  of  the  Italian  evangelical 
mission;  the  exiles  of  Malta,  Geneva,  and  London, 
what  were  they  all?  Were  they  not  modernists? 
Were  they  not  strong  opposers  of  the  tendency  of 
a  Church  forgetful  of  her  calling  and  eager  to 

'Leone    Caetani,   M.P.:    La    erisi   morale   delV   ora   presente: 
religione,  modernismo   e  democrazia.     Roma,    1911. 


296     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

become  altogether  worldly!  And  when  the  Church 
became  worldly,  was  it  not  they  who,  in  the  spirit 
of  John  the  Baptist,  said  to  her :  It  is  not  lawful 
for  thee  to  live  as  thou  dost — and  exhorted  her 
to  be  converted  and  to  go  back  to  her  first  love 
and  her  primitive  simplicity?  These  were  mod- 
ernists, and  they  wanted  exactly  what  the  modern- 
ists of  our  time  demand :  that  the  Church  of  their 
fathers  should  repent  and  believe,  and  that  she 
should  remember  the  greatness  of  her  calling 
among  the  Latin  race. 

Between  the  modernists  of  other  times  which  I 
have  just  mentioned  and  those  of  the  present  day, 
there  stands,  about  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  a  group  of  thinkers  who  were  the  con- 
tinuators  of  the  former  and  the  forerunners  of  the 
latter. 

Let  us  at  least  take  note  of  some  of  them. 

First  of  all  there  is  Giuseppe  Mazzini,4  who, 
from  the  land  of  exile,  wrote :  ' t  Roman  Cathol- 
icism is  nothing  but  the  religion  of  man.  The 
Church  has  been  corrupted  and  must  be  reformed 
and  led  back  to  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  apos- 
tolic times.    In  Italy,  the  right  of  reforming  her 


4  Giuseppe  Mazzini,  the  great  Italian  patriot  and  philosopher, 
was  the  spiritual  founder  of  United  Italy.  He  was  born  at 
Genoa  and  died  at  Pisa  (1805-1872). 


Modernism  297 

is  not  the  privilege  of  the  few,  but  of  the  whole 
Chnrch,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest;  because 
by  Church  I  do  not  mean  the  spiritual  monopoly 
of  a  few,  but  the  general  assembly  of  all  be- 
lievers ";  and  he  suggested  the  convocation  of  an 
Italian  Council,  which  he  hoped  would  be  able 
"  to  save  the  Church  from  superstition  and  in- 
fidelity.'  '  Then  Antonio  Rosmini,5  the  immacu- 
late philosopher,  who  denounced  the  five  wounds 
of  the  Church.  Vincenzo  Gioberti,6  who  unmasked 
modern  Jesuitism,  and  in  his  work  Catholic  Re- 
form, which  was  inspired  by  Savonarola's 
words:  "  Ecclesia  indiget  reformatione,"  said: 
"  Hitherto  people  wanted  to  reform  Rome  with- 
out Rome ;  nay,  in  spite  of  Rome ;  now  they  must 
reform  Rome  through  Rome."  Father  Pas- 
saglia,7  a  Neapolitan  Jesuit,  who  openly  fought 
against  the  temporal  power  of  the  Popes  and  in- 
sisted on  the  urgent  need  of  reforming  ecclesias- 
tical education  and  of  going  back  to  the  primitive 


6  Antonio  Rosmini,  the  Italian  philosopher  and  founder  of  a 
new  religious  order  (the  Rosminians),  was  born  at  Rovereto  in  the 
Italian  Tyrol  in  1797,  and  died  in  1855. 

•Vincenzo  Gioberti  (1801-1852),  an  Italian  philosopher  and 
politician,  was  a  native  of  Turin. 

7  Carlo  Passaglia  (1812-1887)  was  an  Italian  theologian,  born 
in  Lucca.  He  entered  the  order  of  Jesuits  (1827),  from  which  ho 
was  expelled  when  he  espoused  the  cause  of  a  united  Italy  and 
boldly  attacked  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope. 


298     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

discipline  of  the  Church.  Monsignor  Tiboni,8  who 
wanted  the  Bible  to  be  widely  spread  among  the 
people  and  strongly  opposed  the  exaggerated  pre- 
tensions of  modern  Papacy.  Monsignor  Live- 
rani,9  a  man  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Curia,  who 
wrote  a  remarkable  treatise  on  Papacy,  the  Em- 
pire, and  the  Kingdom  of  Italy,  which  made  a 
great  sensation.  Also  Reali,  Perfetti,  Salvoni, 
Moretti.  But  six  men  especially  must  not  be  over- 
looked. They  are:  Raffaello  Lambruschini,  Sta- 
nislao  Bianciardi,  Luigi  Settembrini,  Luigi  Prota- 
Guirleo,  Terenzio  Mamiani,  Father  Curci. 

Raffaello  Lambruschini10  was  a  priest  highly 
respected  by  all  and  a  great  teacher.    He  put  two 

8  Vide  II  Misticismo  Biblico  di  Mons.  Pietro  Emilio  Tiboni, 
Dott.  in  Sacra  Teologia,  Prof,  di  Ebraico,  etc.    Milano,  1853. 

8  Francesco  Liverani  was  born  at  Castel  Bolognese  in  1823. 
He  was  god-child  of  Pius  IX.  His  persecution  by  the  Pope  com- 
menced when  he  began  to  support  Passaglia  with  great  energy 
and  to  fight  violently  against  the  temporal  power  of  the  Popes, 
and  especially  against  the  Papal  Court.  After  the  publication 
of  his  book:  II  Papato,  Vlmpero  e  il  Regno  d'ltalia,  he  was  de- 
prived of  his  ecclesiastical  dignities  (he  was  a  Canon  of  S. 
Maria  Maggiore  in  Rome  and  held  other  offices),  and,  being  re- 
duced to  poverty,  retired  into  a  very  quiet  private  life  in  order 
to  be  able  to  continue  to  study  and  write  in  peace. 

10  Raffaello  Lambruschini  was  born  at  Genova  in  1788  and  died 
at  San  Cerbone  near  Figline  in  Val  d'Arno  (Florence)  in  1873. 
He  was  a  Roman  Catholic  priest;  a  man  with  a  large  heart,  and 
most  nobly  and  spiritually  minded.  He  conceived  the  idea  of  a 
reform  in  the  Church  when  he  saw  many  intellectual  men  of  his 
country  who,  though  feeling  the  need  of  some  faith  and  not  dis- 
believing the   supernatural,   still   repelled  Christianity.     On   ac- 


Modernism  299 

vital  questions  to  himself  and  the  public:  "  The 
fundamental  principles  of  the  actual  doctrines  of 
the  Koman  Catholic  clergy,  the  directing  precepts 
of  the  actual  ecclesiastical  discipline,  the  spirit 
animating  the  teaching  and  the  conduct  of  the 
clergy,  are  they  really  the  principles,  the  precepts, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel?  "  His  answer  was: 
"  No."  And  again:  "  Are  the  accessory  parts  of 
religion,  the  parts  which  religion  can  and  must 
adapt  to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  our  age  ?  ' '  Here,  too,  he  was  bound 
to  answer,  "  No."  And  after  having  described 
the  miserable  condition  of  the  Church  of  those 
days,  he  continued:  "  We  cannot  go  on  in  this 
way.  We  must  break  the  chains,  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  a  bondage  harder  than  the  Jewish  one. 
We  must  go  back  to  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
has  made  us  free.  We  must  get  hold  of  St.  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  and  on  it  rebuild  our 
religious  life.  If  not,  the  world  will  lose  itself;  a 
spirit  of  rebellion  will  arise;  nay,  has  already 
arisen.  The  Church  is  no  longer  loved  as  a 
mother ;  she  is  detested  as  a  cruel  step-mother ;  and 

count  of  his  advanced  ideas,  he  was  called  by  Gino  Capponi  "  II 
Luterino  di  Toscana"  (the  little  Tuscan  Luther).  His  precise 
ideas  relating  to  the  Church  reform  he  cherished  are  to  be  found 
in  a  posthumous  book  of  his,  entitled:  Pensieri  di  un  solitario, 
and  edited  by  Senator  Marco  Tabarrini. 


300     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

we  may  be  sure  that  being  what  she  is  on  account 
of  her  errors,  her  ignorance,  and  her  passions, 
she  will  fall  as  the  Synagogue  fell.  The  husk  will 
fall  off.  The  true  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  will 
revive,  will  grow  young  and  beautiful  again  as 
His  new  Bride.' '  Lambruschini  knew  too  well 
that  such  a  rejuvenescence  of  the  Church  could 
only  take  place  through  a  radical  reform.  "  The 
reformation  of  the  Church,"  he  wrote,  "is  so 
necessary  that  it  surely  will  be  brought  about 
in   one  or   other   of  the   following   four   ways: 

(1)  By  the  Pope,  or,  at  least,  with  the  Pope; 

(2)  by  the  bishops,  without  the  Pope;  (3) 
by  the  minor  clergy,  without  the  Pope  and 
bishops;  (4)  by  the  laity  without  the  clergy. 
The  first  (by  the  Pope  or  with  the  Pope)  would 
be  the  easiest  way,  the  quietest,  the  most  accept- 
able; but  where  is  a  Napoleonic  Pope  to  be  found? 
The  second  (by  the  bishops  without  the  Pope)  I 
think  is  impossible ;  the  third  (by  the  minor  clergy 
without  the  Pope  and  bishops)  I  do  not  think  very 
probable;  the  fourth  (by  the  laity  without  the 
clergy)  I  think  to  be  even  less  probable  than  the 
third.  But  God's  ways  are  not  man's  ways.  If 
liberal-minded  Protestants  could  see  their  way  to 
unite  themselves  with  reasonable  Roman  Catho- 
lics, with  a  view  to  bringing  about  this  reforma- 


Modernism  301 

tion,  it  would  be  greatly  helped  and  facilitated. 
Nothing  could  oppose  an  opinion  become  so 
general." 

Stanislao  Bianciardi,11  a  noble  and  deeply 
spiritually-minded  man,  started  an  important 
paper  in  those  times,  intended  to  foster  concord 
between  religion  and  the  State.  It  was  called 
L'Esaminatore  (The  Examiner).  "  Our  principle 
is  this,"  wrote  Bianciardi:  "  We  want  to  examine 
the  Church  of  Rome  as  she  is  at  present,  and 
judge  her  according  to  the  triple  rule  by  means 
of  which  the  Church  herself  professes  that  all 
her  doctrines  and  practices  were  and  are  estab- 
lished: (1)  sound  reason;  (2)  the  Word  of  God 
as  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures;  (3)  the  teach- 
ing of  the  apostles  as  universally  received  and  fol- 
lowed by  the  early  Church.' '  "  The  supreme  aim 
of  this  our  modest  enterprise,"  he  wrote  again, 
"  is :  To  show  how  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  if 
called  back  to  her  early  principles,  would  be  suffi- 

11  Stanislao  Bianciardi  was  born  in  1811  in  the  little  village 
of  Montegiovi  on  Mount  Amiata  (Siena).  He  studied  law  in  the 
University  of  Siena,  where  he  took  his  degree  in  1831.  He  held 
several  important  public  offices,  giving  every  one  the  impression 
of  an  upright  and  noble-minded  man.  He  translated  Bunyan'a 
Pilgrim'*  Progress;  Les  adicux  and  Lucilla  by  Ad.  Monod;  Ao»fa 
I'almrio  by  G.  Bonnet,  and  other  momentous  Protestant  works 
into  beautiful  and  exquisite  Italian.  He  died  in  Florence  on  the 
22d  December,   18G8. 


302     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

cient  to  answer  to  the  moral  needs  of  our  times. 
We  shall  follow  this  method :  to  compare  the  pres- 
ent with  the  past.  Now,  what  are  the  actual  con- 
ditions of  Roman  Catholicism  in  Italy?  How  has 
it  been  reduced  to  this  state?  What  was  it  dur- 
ing the  three  first  centuries  of  its  life?  What 
means  should  be  adopted,  within  the  Church  and 
in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Church,  to  bring  her  back 
to  her  first  purity?  " 

The  great  patriot  and  man  of  letters,  Luigi 
Settembrini,12  wrote  from  Naples  to  Bianciardi  in 
August,  1864:  "  I  am  reading  the  Examiner  with 
great  pleasure  and  admiration.  ...  I  wish  you 
every  success.  Go  on !  you  will  accomplish  much 
good.  Political  without  religious  freedom  is  noth- 
ing but  a  short-lived  fire,  and  cannot  last.  Na- 
tional conscience  is  the  goal  to  be  kept  in  view; 
error  must  be  extirpated  from  it;  and  truth  im- 
planted in  it.  Rome,  the  great  enemy,  the  first 
cause  of  all  the  evils  of  Italy,  does  not  lie  on  the 
Tiber;  she  lies  here,  in  our  consciences;  and  here 
we  must  fight  her.  .  .  .  How  I  wish  that  all  our 
papers  would  understand  that  there  is  a  more 

"Luigi  Settembrini  (1813-1876),  Italian  writer  and  patriot, 
was  born  at  Naples.  Between  1839  and  1860  he  spent  many 
years  in  prison  (at  St.  Stefano)  and  in  exile  (in  Malta  and  in 
London)  for  his  political  views,  expressed  nowhere  more  forcibly 
than  in  the  Protesta  del  Popolo  dclle  Due  Sicilie   (1847). 


Modernism  303 

serious  question  than  the  political  one  to  cope 
with;  namely,  the  religious  question,  which  ought 
never  to  be  lost  sight  of." 

About  1862  a  paper  called  L'Emancipatore  Cat- 
tolico  (The  Catholic  Emancipator)  appeared, 
edited  by  a  Dominican  friar,  Luigi  Prota-Guirleo 
of  St.  Domenico  Maggiore  in  Naples.  It  had  a 
more  practical  tendency  than  the  Examiner.  It 
served  as  the  official  organ  of  an  association  of 
priests  who  wanted  emancipation  from  Koman 
bondage.  The  association  grew  considerably  in 
numbers.  It  counted  as  members  about  3,500 
priests  and  friars,  double  the  number  of  laymen, 
32  members  of  Parliament,  16  senators,  4  govern- 
ment ministers,  86  magistrates,  3  generals,  50 
officers,  and  had  also  32  secondary  associations 
affiliated,  scattered  about  in  the  various  provinces 
of  Italy.  The  movement  was  one  of  great  im- 
portance, and  who  knows  what  national  propor- 
tions it  might  not  have  assumed,  had  it  not  been 
for  internal  misunderstandings  and  the  desertion 
of  not  a  few  who  could  not  withstand  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  Curia. 

Count  Terenzio  Mamiani,13  the  great  Italian 

"Count  Terenzio  Mamiani  della  Rovere  (1709-1885),  Italian 
poet,  philosopher,  and  statesman,  was  born  at  Pesaro;  took  part 
in  the  revolutionary  movements  of  1831,  and  was  banished.     He 


304     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

philosopher,  published  his  dream,  entitled:  La 
Rinascenza  Cattolica  {The  Catholic  Renaissance), 
in  the  year  1862.  In  it  he  anticipated  the  fall 
of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Popes,  who  con- 
sented to  become  primi  inter  pares  and  to  recog- 
nise as  legitimate  the  harmonious  relation  of 
moral  and  political  liberty  with  religion  and  the 
country.  Mamiani's  dream  had  its  partial  realisa- 
tion eight  years  later  in  spite  of  the  Vatican,  when 
the  Italians  entered  Eome  on  the  20th  September, 
1870,  through  the  breach  of  Porta  Pia. 

The  Jesuit  Father  Curci,14  an  old  friend  of  Pius 
IX  and  founder  of  the  Jesuit  review,  Civilta  Cat- 
tolica, brings  us  to  1871.  Up  to  this  date  Curci 
had  always  been  a  staunch  defender  of  the  Vatican 
Curia ;  but  a  few  months  after  the  breach  of  Porta 
Pia  he  veered  round  and  first  in  a  pamphlet  on 
the  event  of  the  20th  September,  and  then  on  sev- 
eral other  occasions,  and  especially  in  a  famous 
letter  to  the  Pope,  published  in  the  Rivista  Eu- 

lived  at  Paris  till  1846,  and  then  became  professor  of  philosophy 
at  Turin.  Subsequently  he  held  office  several  times  during 
Cavour's  ministry. 

"Carlo  Maria  Curci  (1809-1891)  founded  (1850)  the  review 
Civilta  Cattolica,  and  wrote  (1847)  a  trenchant  answer  to 
Gioberti's  11  Gesuita  Moderno.  This  publication,  urging  the 
reconciliation  of  the  Holy  See  with  Italy,  resulted  in  his  expul- 
sion from  the  Jesuit  order  (1877).  The  other  books  by  him,  La 
Nuova  Italia  (1881)  and  II  Vaticano  Regio  (1883),  were  put 
on  the  Index. 


Modernism  305 

ropea  (European  Eeview),  he  expressed  the 
theory  that  man  must  resign  himself  in  face  of 
such  facts  in  which  it  is  his  duty  to  acknowledge 
the  hand  of  God.  But  the  work  of  this  man,  whom 
Italians  have  too  soon  forgotten,  did  not  consist 
of  that  only.  His  book  II  Vaticano  Regio  (The 
Vatican  Court)  was  a  cry  of  protest  against  the 
Pope's  thirst  for  earthly  power,  and  against  the 
worldliness  of  the  Church ;  and  his  New  Testament 
Translated  and  Explained,  with  Exegetical  and 
Ethical  Notes,  showed  how  great  was  the  love  of 
this  pious  man  for  the  Word  of  God,  and  how 
deeply  convinced  he  was  that  a  true  and  lasting 
spiritual  regeneration  of  Italy  could  only  be  hoped 
for  through  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

If  we  were  to  try  and  concentrate  into  one 
voice  all  the  voices  raised  against  papal  Rome  at 
a  time  not  very  distant  from  the  present,  that 
voice  would  demand :  the  abolition  of  compulsory 
celibacy  for  the  clergy ;  the  education  of  the  clergy 
to  be  conducted  not  within  the  narrow  limits  of 
seminaries,  but  on  broader  lines  and  with  a  more 
ample  horizon  and  to  be  completed  in  the  national 
educational  institutions,  with  a  view  of  bringing 
together  the  priesthood  and  the  laity,  the  Church 
and  society;  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  be  spread  all 
over  the  country  and  to  become,  as  Chrysostom 


306     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

wanted  them  to  be,  the  manual  of  all  believers; 
the  abolition  of  the  ordinance  directing  the  same 
liturgy  in  a  language  not  understood  by  the  peo- 
ple to  be  used  in  all  churches,  and  a  return  to  the 
practice  of  the  early  Church  when  every  nation 
prayed  to  God  in  her  own  language  and  all 
churches  were  intimately  united  by  bonds  of  faith 
and  love;  the  sacrament  of  Holy  Communion  to 
be  administered  in  its  biblical  integrity,  with  the 
bread  and  the  cup  to  the  people ;  the  restitution  to 
the  clergy  and  the  people  of  their  ancient  rights 
concerning  the  election  of  their  pastors;  the  res- 
toration to  the  bishops  of  their  ancient  diocesan 
rights  by  which  they  occupied  not  a  position  of 
bondage  such  as  at  present,  but  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent position. 


How  has  this  revolutionary  movement  or  rather 
this  recent  phase  of  antagonism  between  the  two 
tendencies,  the  one  ultra-conservative  and  the 
other  progressive,  been  brought  about? 

Two  things  have  caused  it :  namely,  the  condi- 
tion into  which  Roman  Catholicism  has  fallen,  and 
Protestant  influence. 

First  of  all,  I  say,  the  condition  into  which  Ro- 


Modernism  307 

man  Catholicism  has  fallen.  In  order  to  judge 
Eoman  Catholicism  rightly  one  must  not  study  it 
as  it  appears  in  Protestant  lands  or  in  the  works 
of  its  great  writers  such  as  Newman,  Manning, 
or  others  who  have  passed  over  from  Protestant- 
ism to  Komanism.  Eomanism,  in  Protestant 
lands,  is  quite  different  to  what  it  is  in  Latin 
countries ;  there  it  cannot  help  being  subjected  to 
Protestant  influence  and  so  it  moderates  itself,  for 
it  knows  that  no  Anglo-Saxon  mind  would  ever 
accept  as  Christianity  the  many  religious  exhi- 
bitions that  are  accepted  as  such  in  the  Abruzzi, 
the  Neapolitan  provinces,  and  Sicily;  and  as 
far  as  the  great  English  writers  are  concerned 
and  whom  Roman  Catholicism  rightly  boasts  of, 
everybody  knows  that  they  accepted  Eomanism 
not  as  it  is,  but  as  they  idealised  it.  What  they 
describe  is  not  real  Eomanism;  it  is  a  kind  of 
ideal  Eomanism.  If  they  were  led  intellectually 
to  accept  Eoman  Catholicism  on  account  of  the 
grandeur  of  its  unity,  its  tradition,  its  apostolic 
succession,  its  liturgy,  and  its  past  providential 
mission  especially  at  a  time  when  barbarians 
inundated  Europe,  it  is  also  a  fact  that  as  far  as 
their  conscience,  their  spirituality,  and  their  im- 
maculate lives  were  concerned,  they  still  remained 
what  they  were,  when  Protestants ;  namely,  Chris- 


308     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

tians,  in  the  highest,  purest,  and  most  exquisite 
sense  of  the  word. 

In  order  to  judge  rightly  of  Eoman  Catholicism, 
it  is  not  enough  to  run  through  Italy  from  Pied- 
mont to  Sicily  in  a  "  train  de  luxe/'  only  making 
momentary  stoppages  at  the  principal  towns,  en- 
tering the  nearest  church,  and  asking  for  informa- 
tion from  the  first  person  one  meets,  or  to  whom 
one  has  been  given  a  card  of  introduction.  In 
order  to  judge  rightly  of  Eoman  Catholicism  it  is 
necessary  to  live  in  a  Latin  country,  to  study  the 
people  thoroughly,  to  examine  all  their  religious 
practices,  to  search  their  very  soul,  to  win  the  con- 
fidence of  the  noblest  part  of  the  clergy,  and  to 
enter  into  full  communion  of  spirit  and  affection 
with  those  souls  who  suffer  and  mourn,  and  who 
long  for  redemption  from  a  bondage  that  has  be- 
come intolerable. 

For  to  such  a  condition  as  that  have  we  arrived. 

The  young  seminarists  are  in  a  state  of  abso- 
lute unrest;  they  feel  that  the  teaching  imparted 
to  them  is  far  from  being  up  to  date;  that  the 
way  in  which  they  are  prepared  for  practical  life 
is  absurd,  and,  therefore,  they  publish  energetic 
protests  in  which  they  say:  "  What  our  school 
lacks  is  a  fearless  trust  in  science  and  freedom. 
Such  fatal  deficiency  in  our  schools  and  studies 


Modernism  309 

will  last  just  as  long  as  seminaries  are  not  re- 
formed into  sacred  places  intended  to  sow  lovingly 
and  disinterestedly  in  the  hearts  of  the  young  the 
first  seeds  of  spirituality  and  science,  as  long  as 
they  remain  what  they  are  at  present,  namely: 
places  where  science  is  monopolised  with  a  view 
to  manufacturing  useful  and  trustworthy  ecclesi- 
astical functionaries.  We  are  living  in  a  world 
of  extraordinary  narrowness,  where  strong  vir- 
tues thrive  no  longer,  but  only  passive,  resigned 
individualities,  pale  hot-house  flowers  which 
wither  as  soon  as  the  first  winds  of  spring  begin 
to  blow."15  And  the  seminarists  exhort  each 
other  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  coming  insur- 
rection, saying:  "  Brethren,  the  salvation  of  the 
Church  lies  in  us!  " 

The  pure,  noble-minded  clergy  who  conscien- 
tiously keep  their  vows  are  the  exception;  they 
give  themselves  heart  and  soul  to  works  of  charity, 
literature,  and  science;  but  all  know  by  now  that 
in  Latin  countries  the  larger  part  of  the  clergy 
live  immorally  and  thus  form  one  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous centres  of  moral  infection  in  society.  Hon- 
est priests,  those  who  in  this  respect  also  want  to 
live  in  harmony  with  God  and  with  their  con- 

15  From  a  pamphlet  entitled  La  talvesaa  &   in  not   (Solvation 

Lies  in  Us),  and  signed:  A  Group  of  Seminarists:  October,  1909. 


310     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

sciences,  lift  up  their  voices  and  cry:  "  We  do 
not  desire  a  hidden  and  sinful  love  any  longer,  the 
only  one  allowed  us  by  the  cruel  law  of  celibacy, 
one  full  of  intrigue  and  which  must  be  kept  in  the 
dark.  What  we  want  is  the  love  that  does  not  fear 
the  full  light  of  day;  the  love  of  one  woman  who 
will  devote  to  us  without  remorse  the  whole  treas- 
ure of  her  affection;  a  love  which  is  a  rest  in 
the  beautiful  and  calm  moments  of  life,  and  a 
source  of  strength  when  inevitable  discourage- 
ments assail ;  in  a  word,  the  love  of  a  wife  to  refine 
our  sentiments,  to  help  us  in  our  endeavours  to 
better  our  character.  And  with  a  wife's  love,  that 
also  of  children.  Who  can  ignore  the  educative 
power  that  emanates  from  the  consciousness  of 
paternity?  Why  should  we,  from  whom  the  duty 
of  honesty  and  straightforwardness  is  required 
more  than  from  others,  be  deprived  of  such  effica- 
cious means  of  moral  education  f  ' ' 16 

Outside  the  Church,  religion  no  longer  exists; 
or,  at  least,  what  there  is  of  religion  is,  to  a  large 
extent,  a  form  without  true  Christian  godliness. 
For  instance :  at  the  last  census  taken  in  Florence 
on  the  10th  June,  1911,  out  of  a  population  of  232,- 

"From  a  pamphlet  entitled  II  Processo  Don  Riva.  Appello  al 
laicato  e  rifiessioni  di  un  gruppo  di  sacerdoti  (The  trial  of  Don 
Riva.  An  appeal  to  the  laity.  Reflections  of  a  group  of  priests). 
Florence,  1908. 


Modernism  311 

860  souls,  205,697  returned  themselves  as  Roman 
Catholics;  but  you  need  only  ask  the  most  active 
parish  priests  of  the  town  what  proportion  that 
number  bears  to  the  number  of  true  and  practising 
Roman  Catholics  they  come  into  contact  with,  and 
you  will  be  surprised  at  their  answer.  Moreover, 
in  a  city  like  Florence,  out  of  232,860  souls,  of 
whom  6,000  profess  to  belong  to  other  confessions, 
21,170  at  the  time  of  the  census  declared  that  they 
belonged  to  no  religion  whatever. 

In  other  towns  things  are  still  worse;  and 
the  forms  religion  assumes  are  such  that  one 
cannot  believe  them  to  be  true  unless  really 
seen.  Last  summer  (1911)  two  popular  leaflets 
were  widely  circulated  in  Genoa  where  cholera 
was  raging.  The  one  was  entitled:  "  A  Prayer 
to  St.  Martha  for  deliverance  from  cholera.' ' 
It  said:  "I  am  Martha,  Christ's  hostess. 
Whoever  confides  in  me  will  be  preserved  from 
the  epidemic.  The  power  to  impart  this  grace 
I  have  received  from  Christ,  the  Lord."  Then 
followed  several  other  prayers,  and  at  the  end 
was  the  instruction:  "To  be  carried  on  one's 
person."  The  leaflet  cost  5  centimes.  The  other 
bore  the  inscription:  "  Wonderful  effects  of  the 
water  of  St.  Ignatius.  It  is  simple,  natural  water, 
called  by  that  name  because  it  has  been  blessed 


312     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

with  one  of  the  relics  of  the  Saint."  Then  fol- 
lowed an  enumeration  of  the  prodigious  effects  of 
the  water,  as  experienced  during  all  epidemics 
from  1656  to  the  present  day.  After  which,  came 
the  notice:  "  The  use  of  this  water  may  be  fol- 
lowed with  the  Lord's  prayer  or  a  prayer  to  the 
saint."  And  at  the  end,  this  intimation:  "  St. 
Ignatius'  water  is  to  be  had  in  the  vestry  of  the 
Church  of  the  Cinque  Piaghe  (Five  Wounds,  a 
church  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers).  One  could  scarcely 
witness  a  sadder  and  more  miserable  spectacle 
than  that  offered  by  the  bigoted  women  of  the 
people  and  by  people  of  all  ranks  of  society  mak- 
ing their  way  to  the  Church  of  the  Cinque  Piaghe 
with  bottles  and  flasks  to  be  filled  with  the 
precious  liquid,  after  they  had  offered  their  volun- 
tary contribution  to  the  Jesuit  on  duty.  The 
liquid  was  simply  water  from  a  common  source 
into  which  a  bone  of  the  saint  had  been  immersed ! 
But  the  awful  iniquity  of  it  all  lies  in  this :  that 
the  two  leaflets  bore  the  Imprimatur  of  ecclesias- 
tical authority;  which  means  that  those  authorities 
had  seen  the  leaflets,  had  read  and  approved  them, 
and  had  authorised  their  being  spread  abroad.17 
And  what  about  the  south  of  Italy,  where,  in 
several  places,  penitents  have  to  clean  the  church, 

"Vide  Battaglie  d'Oggi:  Anno  VII,  Fasc.  V,  1911,  p.  280. 


Modernism  313 

from  the  door  to  the  high  altar,  with  their  tongue; 
or  to  make  crosses  on  the  ground  with  their 
tongue  until  it  bleeds;  or  go  from  their  home  to 
the  church  on  their  knees?  ls  where  in  cathedrals 
the  preachers  who  are  sent  to  fight  Protestant 
heresy,  in  order  to  show  their  exasperation  to  all, 
pretend  to  wound  themselves  with  instruments 
devised  for  the  purpose,  and  make  the  saints  and 
Madonnas  on  their  altars  speak,  laugh,  or  weep, 
according  to  their  fancy?  where  just  as  in  the  past 
religion  was  intimately  connected  with  brigand- 
age,19 so  it  is  now  in  close  touch  with  the  camorra 
and  the  mafia? 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  if  the  intelligent  and 
honest  part  of  the  clergy  feel  bound  to  take  the 
matter  in  hand  and  to  think  of  the  future  of  the 
Church?  Not  long  ago  a  large  group  of  priests 
wrote  a  letter  addressed  to  Pius  X.  "  Our  so- 
ciety/ '  they  said,  "  has  now  for  many  years 
entirely  held  aloof  from  the  Church,  which  it  con- 
siders as  an  ancient  and  inexorable  foe.  The  old 
cathedrals,  which  the  piety  of  free,  believing  peo- 
ples in  the  Middle  Ages  raised  to  the  Virgin  and 
to  Patron  Saints,  are  now  utterly  deserted;  men 

"Vide  Battaglie  d'Oggi:  Anno  VII,  Fasc.  VI,   1911,  p.  355. 
"  Vide  Aw.   Giuseppe   Leti:    Roma  e   lo   Stato   Pontificio   dal 
1849  al  1870,  Vol.  II,  p.  61. 


314     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

no  longer  care  to  draw  from  religion  the  strength 
and  light  necessary  to  the  soul  agitated  by  daily 
struggles ;  respect  and  veneration  for  all  that  from 
the  cradle  has  been  held  most  sacred,  has  van- 
ished. And  that  is  not  all,  for  the  Church  is  con- 
sidered to  be  an  obstacle  to  the  happiness  of 
nations ;  the  priest  is  insulted  in  public  as  a  com- 
mon, ignorant  parasite;  the  Gospel  and  Chris- 
tianity are  regarded  as  expressions  of  a  decayed 
civilisation,  because  they  are  entirely  insufficient 
to  respond  to  the  ideals  of  freedom,  justice,  and 
science  which  are  moving  the  masses. ' '  And  after 
pointing  out  the  great  evils  that  harass  the  Church 
in  our  day,  they  exclaim :  ' l  We  are  not  rebels ! 
We  are  sincere  Catholics;  and,  as  such,  we  desire 
to  stand  up  for  the  salvation  of  Christianity."  20 
Only  a  few  months  ago,  Leone  Caetani,  whom  I 
have  already  quoted,21  gave  utterance  to  the  follow- 
ing grave  charge :  ' '  The  Eoman  Church  has  for- 
gotten her  old,  popular  traditions,  and  has  ceased 
to  exercise  the  beneficent  reforming  influence  with 
which  she  used  to  stimulate  progress  and  every 
moral  improvement,  and  which  was  her  principal 
i  raison  d'etre  '  in  the  early  centuries.  She  does 
not  live  any  longer,  as  she  once  did,  for  the  de- 

10 Vide  ***»*:   Lettera  aperta  a  Pio  X   (An  open  letter  to 
Pius  X).  a  Vide  n.  3. 


Modernism  315 

fence  of  the  poor  and  the  humble  as  against  the 
rich  and  great  of  the  world.  She  has  herself 
become  worldly,  rich,  and  powerful,  and  only  tries 
to  maintain  unchanged  the  present  condition  of 
things ;  she  shrinks  from  all  innovation ;  and  to  the 
poor  and  humble  she  preaches  .  .  .  resignation. 
Keduced  as  she  is  without  vigour  or  power  of 
adapting  and  evolving  herself,  benumbed  after  so 
many  centuries  of  existence  and  already  threat- 
ened with  her  death-blow,  she  can  but  repeat  ec- 
clesiastical and  theological  formulae,  one  thousand 
six  hundred  years  old  at  least,  formulae  that  are 
in  sharp  contrast  with  the  deepest  moral  needs 
of  the  present  moment.  The  most  ignorant  masses 
in  the  country  and  in  regions  least  touched 
by  modern  culture,  are  still  faithfully  attached 
to  her  just  as  in  past  centuries;  and  their  at- 
tachment is  explained  by  the  fact  that  their  spirit 
is  still  what  it  used  to  be  a  thousand  and  more 
years  ago.  In  that  lies  her  intrinsic  weakness, 
for  it  is  especially  in  the  cultivated  classes  that 
the  elevating  power  of  religion  is  to  be  found. 
A  religion,  to  be  true,  must  be  the  religion  of 
all,  not  only  of  the  most  ignorant  and  miser- 
able/ '22 

23  Leone    Caetani,   M.P.:    La   crisi   morale   delV    ora   presente: 
religione,  modernismo  e  dcmocrazia.     Roma,  1911. 


316     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Such  being  the  condition  of  things,  is  it  surpris- 
ing that  the  modernist  movement  has  arisen? 

The  other  reason  for  this  revolutionary  move- 
ment is  to  be  found,  as  I  have  already  said,  in 
Protestant  influence. 

During  the  last  sixty  years  evangelical  churches 
have  been  built  from  the  Alps  to  the  very  end  of 
Sicily,  evangelical  educational  institutions  have 
been  established,  works  of  charity  have  been 
founded,  while  the  Tract  Society  for  Italy  has  in- 
undated the  country  with  polemic,  apologetic, 
ethical,  and  doctrinal  tracts  and  books,  and  the 
London  and  Scottish  Bible  Societies  have  sent 
their  colporteurs  throughout  the  country  selling 
every  year  thousands  and  thousands  of  copies  of 
the  Holy  Word.  Now,  is  it  credible  that  all  this 
huge  combined  work  should  have  exercised  no  in- 
fluence whatever  on  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
Italy?  It  would  be  possible  to  show  that  a  larger 
and  deeper  influence  might  have  been  exercised, 
had  our  first  missionaries  in  Italy  understood  each 
other  better  from  the  very  beginning;  but  the  fact 
is  that,  in  spite  of  all  human  weaknesses,  a  great 
influence  has  indeed  been  exercised  by  Protestan- 
tism on  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Italy.  The 
following  are  the  proofs  of  such  an  influence. 

I  have  often  thought  that  if  all  the  presidents 


Modernism  317 

of  the  various  Protestant  missions  in  Italy  and 
if  all  the  ministers  of  the  different  churches  were 
to  gather  together  all  their  correspondence— past 
and  present — with  Koman  Catholic  priests  and 
friars,  Christian  literature  would  be  enriched  by 
many  volumes  of  the  most  interesting  and  impor- 
tant psychological  studies.    I  have  a  huge  pile  of 
those  letters  myself,  and  I  like  to  go  over  them 
again  and  again;  their  repeated  perusal  enables 
me  to  enter  better  into  a  deeper  fellowship  with 
a  number  of  struggling  souls,  who  mourn  over 
the  present  condition  of  the  Church  they  love,  and 
long  for  a  purifying  breath  from  on  high  and  for 
a  general  revival  of  her  spiritual  life.    Some  of 
them  would  like  to  leave  their  Church  and  join  us 
in  our  missionary  work;  but  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  them  want  to  remain  where  they  are, 
and  to  work  for  a  renovation  within  the  Church. 
If  they  come  to  us,  it  is  only  to  get  sympathy,  com- 
fort, and  advice.    The  cultured  Italian  modernists 
find   their    spiritual   nourishment   in   Protestant 
literature;  our  latest  books  are  to  be  found  in 
their  private  libraries,  either  in  their  original  lan- 
guage or  in  translations ;  and  in  their  writings,  in 
their  sermons,  in  their  modernistic  utterances,  the 
influence  of  French  Protestant  literature,  espe- 
cially, is  evident. 


318     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

Some  time  ago  I  was  struck  by  the  fact  that 
there  seemed  to  be  a  revival  in  the  interest  shown 
by  the  public  in  Christian  preaching  in  the  Koman 
Catholic  Church  of  Italy.  Some  names  were  men- 
tioned with  great  appreciation;  when  a  special 
course  of  sermons  was  being  delivered,  the  attend- 
ance grew  day  by  day;  some  preachers  attracted 
not  only  old  men  and  women,  but  young  folk,  think- 
ing men,  professors,  and  officers  in  the  army.  All 
this  filled  my  heart  with  joy,  and  I  began  to  make 
eager  inquiries.  I  went  about  myself,  and  en- 
gaged friends,  who  I  knew  were  as  much  inter- 
ested in  the  subject  as  I  was,  to  make  inquiries. 
We  soon  found  that  nearly  all  the  preachers  who 
attracted  people  in  great  numbers  were  either 
modernists  or  men  with  new  and  broad  ideas, 
large  hearts,  and  wide  sympathies,  and  that  the 
reason  for  such  attraction  lay  in  the  new  style  of 
their  preaching.  They  never  assaulted  Prot- 
estantism in  the  rabid,  unjust,  absurd  way  of  the 
ordinary  orthodox  sermoniser ;  they  had  given  up 
the  old  fables  concerning  the  immorality  of  Lu- 
ther, the  heartlessness  of  Calvin,  and  the  con- 
viviality of  Zwingli,  which  had  been  the  "  pieces 
de  resistance  "  of  the  old  monks;  they  took  a  text 
from  the  "Word  of  God,  they  quoted  it  in  the  lan- 
guage understood  by  the  people,  they  applied  it  to 


Modernism  319 

the  religious  and  moral  needs  of  their  hearers,  and 
all  this  was  done  in  simple  language,  in  a  pure  and 
unpretentious    style;   and   the   people,   who  had 
tired  of  the  conventional  and  high-flown  but  empty 
preaching  of  the  ordinary  friars,  were  drawn  to 
this  new,  natural,  spiritual,  conversational  method 
of  address.     I  went  further  in  my  inquiries.    I 
wrote  right  and  left  to  the  preachers  I  knew,  and 
asked  them  to  help  me  in  my  researches ;  and  here 
are  some  of  the  answers  I  received  from  different 
parts  of  Italy.    One  wrote:  "  My  evangelical  ser- 
mons have  stirred  the  old  clerical  circles  in  an 
incredible  way.    They  have  tried  in  all  ways  to 
defame  me,  but  have  not  succeeded.    The  most  en- 
lightened priests  and  friars  and  the  most  cultured 
men  we  have  in  this  town,  have  defended  me  with 
all  their  strength.    I  have  done  my  best  always 
to  be  theologically  correct,  avoiding  dangerous 
bones  of  contention,  and  limiting  myself  to  affirm- 
ing most  energetically  the  fundamental  truths  of 
the  Gospel."    Another  from  a  distant  town  ended 
his  most  interesting  letter  with  these  sympathetic 
words :   ' i  How  I  love  your   French  evangelical 
preachers!    I  am  their  spiritual  son.    I  am  just 
now  engaged  in  a  very  unpleasant  piece  of  work. 
Two  Protestant  ladies  wish  me  to  instruct  them 
in  order  to  enter  the  Church  of  Rome.    Naturally, 


320  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 
I  cannot  refuse ;  but  I  feel  sorry  for  them.  What 
folly  to  bid  good-bye  to  one's  holy  freedom  for 
the  sake  of  accepting  the  yoke  of  the  Church  of 
Eome— a  yoke  we  ourselves  are  scarcely  able  to 
bear  any  longer.  What  I  teach  them  is  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  which,  up  to  the  present,  they  have, 
spiritually  speaking,  completely  ignored.  If,  with 
the  help  of  God,  I  succeed  in  putting  them  into 
personal  contact  with  the  Saviour,  I  think  it  mat- 
ters very  little  what  church  they  belong  to."  In 
a  Lombard  town  I  had  heard  a  striking  address, 
which  strongly  reminded  me  of  some  French  ser- 
mon I  must  have  heard  or  read,  but  which  I  had 
forgotten.  As  soon  as  I  returned  to  Florence,  I 
wrote  to  the  preacher,  who  answered:  "Yes,  I 
do  not  wonder  that  you  felt,  as  you  say,  *  a  breath 
of  your  native  air  '  in  my  sermon.  I  will  tell 
you  frankly,  the  Soman  Catholic  models  have  had 
no  influence  whatever  on  my  preaching;  the 
French  and  Swiss  Protestant  preachers,  such 
as  Vinet,  Adolphe,  Horace  and  Wilfred  Monod, 
Babut,  Coquerel  pere  et  fils,  Charles  Wagner  and 
many  others,  have  been  and  are  my  teachers, 
my  models,  my  inspirers,  the  makers  of  what 
I  am." 

Is  all  this  not  quite  sufficient  to  show  that  Prot- 


Modernism  321 

estant  influence  has  had  its  share  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  modernist  movement! 


It  is  now  time  to  inquire  what  this  reform 
within  the  Church  so  cherished  by  modernists 
should  consist  in.  Have  the  modernists  got  a  pro- 
gramme?   And  if  so,  what  is  it? 

In  1908  a  group  of  modernists  issued  a  pro- 
gramme which  was  translated  into  French  and 
English.  It  made  a  great  sensation.  As  the 
movement  unfortunately  began  with  a  conspicuous 
hypercritical  tendency,  this  programme,  which 
was  an  answer  to  the  famous  Encyclical  of  Pius 
X,  "  Pascendi  Dominici  Gregis,"  was  hypercriti- 
cal, and,  in  its  fundamental  part,  destructive  of 
Christianity.23 

Had  the  movement  followed  that  track  unswerv- 
ingly, modernism  would  have  died  long  ago.  A 
movement  like  that  could  not  have  withstood  the 
force  of  Eome,  and  would  have  been  condemned 
from  its  birth  to  sterility  and  death.     But  the 

23  ***** :  II  Programma  del  Modernisti.  Risposta  all'  En- 
ciclica  di  Pio  X,  "Pascendi  Dominici  gregis."  Roma:  Societa 
internazionale  seientifico-religioso  editrice,  1908.  The  papal  En- 
cyclical was  issued  on  the  8th  September,  1907  (the  fifth  year  of 
the  Pope's  pontificate). 


322     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

modernists  understood  that  was  not  the  track  to 
follow  in  order  to  reach  a  practical  goal,  and  so 
they  began  to  take  another  direction.  To-day, 
only  a  handful  survive  of  the  representatives  of 
the  initial  hypercritical  movement;  they  are  men 
who  scarcely  deign  to  look  your  way;  they  have 
gone  forward  and  have  left  Christ  and  His  follow- 
ers far  behind.  But  while  their  hypercritical  and 
destructive  programme  is  almost  forgotten,  the 
new  modernism,  healthy  and  powerful,  which  has 
by  now  penetrated  the  humble  country  parish  as 
well  as  the  Vatican,  and  is  especially  represented 
by  the  young  clergy  to  whom  the  future  belongs, 
has  issued  a  new  programme,  which  is  one  of  the 
strongest  and  most  eloquent  signs  of  the  times. 
And  this  one  is  as  clear  and  practical  as  the  other 
was  misty  and  theoretic. 

This  is  what  it  sets  forth : 24 

First  of  all,  it  states  that  it  is  the  right  and 
duty  of  the  Church  alone  to  accomplish  a  religious 
reform;  and  that  by  the  term  Church  one  is  to 
understand  not  the  ambitious  and  unscrupulous 
"  ecclesiola  "  or  "  sect  "  gathered  round  the 
Pope,  but  the  union  of  all  believers  in  Christ,  who, 


"Gennaro    Avolio:    La    Riforma    religiosa.    Battaglie    d'Oggi. 
Naples:   April,  1911. 


Modernism  323 

through  their  works,  show  the  sincerity  of  their 
faith  in  Him.    Then  follows  a  statement  concern- 
ing the  reform  they  aim  at:  "  We  want  the  re- 
vision of  dogma,  the  revision  of  all  our  confessions 
of  faith ;  we  want  to  see  separated  that  which  is 
substantial  in  Christianity  from  that  which  has 
been  added  subsequently  in  the  interest  of  the 
sacerdotal  caste.    We  want  the  authority  of  the 
Pope  to  be  confined  to  its  just  limits,  and  the 
ancient  authority  and  their  rights  and  freedom 
to  be  given  back  to  the  episcopacy  and  to  the 
laity.    We  want  all  believers  to  have  the  right  of 
free  research  in  all  fields  recognised  as  legitimate. 
We  do  not  want  the  abolition  of  the  hierarchy, 
but  we  want  all  the  grades  of  the  hierarchy,  from 
the  humblest  to  the  highest,  to  be  represented  not 
by  ambitious,  crafty  men,  or  by  intriguers,  but  by 
men  imbued  with  the  apostolic  spirit.   We  want  to 
do  away  once  and  for  all  with  the  ridiculous  fiction 
of  the  Pope  being  a  prisoner  of  the  Italian  Gov- 
ernment.   We  want  to  see  the  Pope  go  himself 
from  diocese  to  diocese  in  order  to  get  to  know 
men  and  things  from  personal  observation  and  to 
obtain  a  personal  knowledge  of  all  ecclesiastical 
abuses,  and  so  to  depose  all  unworthy  priests  and 
bishops.    Among  the  rights  to  be  restored  to  the 


324  The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 
clergy,  we  want  celibacy  to  be  voluntary,  not  com- 
pulsory. If  it  is  true  that  marriage  is  a  sacra- 
ment for  the  layman,  we  want  it  to  be  the  same 
for  the  priest  also.  Why  should  it  be  only  a  curse 
and  a  shame  to  the  priest?  As  far  as  worship  is 
concerned,  we  wish  to  have  it  brought  back  to  its 
ancient  simplicity  and  purity.  We  want  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  Latin  language  in  the  liturgy;  the 
abolition  of  all  those  fables  and  idols,  which  not 
only  have  no  justification  in  any  true  and  certain 
tradition,  but  are  very  often  shown  by  sound 
criticism  to  be  historically  inexistent.  We  want 
the  veneration  due  to  the  great  saints  of  the 
Church  not  to  replace  the  worship  due  to  God 
alone;  and  we  do  not  want  this  worship  to  be 
material  as  at  present,  but  to  become  again  the 
worship  *  in  spirit  and  in  truth.'  We  want  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  excessive  right  of  guardianship  that 
the  priest  has  always  exercised  over  the  faithful ; 
that  kind  of  guardianship  which  may,  perhaps, 
have  its  use  (although  we  even  seriously  question 
this)  during  spiritual  infancy,  but  which  becomes 
utterly  disastrous  and  humiliating  in  the  case  of 
the  spiritually  grown-up.  The  adult  must  be  able 
to  do  many  things  by  himself;  and  as  far  as  his 
conscience  is  concerned,  he  must  know  that  be- 


Modernism  325 

tween  his  conscience  and  his  God  there  is  no  room 
for  human  mediators.  We  want  the  rights  of  the 
laity  to  be  fully  recognised  in  the  Church;  not 
only  in  matters  of  administration,  but,  above  all, 
where  the  election  of  pastors  is  concerned.  We 
want  the  separation  of  the  Church  from  the  State. 
We  want  the  abolition  of  all  false  devotional  prac- 
tices; and  as  a  substitute  for  all  morbidly  senti- 
mental books  of  prayers  and  pious  meditations, 
we  desire  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  the  greatest  book 
that  Christianity  possesses,  the  only  book  able  to 
educate  the  spirit  to  a  true  and  manly  piety.  In 
concluding,  we  ask :  From  whom  are  we  to  expect 
all  these  reforms  and  the  many  others  which  our 
Christian  conscience  demands!  It  is  almost  use- 
less to  expect  them  from  those  in  high  places. 
The  only  thing  they  can  think  of,  is :  to  keep  be- 
lievers chained  and  silent,  and  to  retain  episcopacy 
in  their  power,  with  an  iron  hand.  We  believe 
that  the  reforming  power  lies  in  the  people.  When 
Christian  conscience  awakens  in  the  masses,  the 
day  of  reform  within  the  Church  will  not  be  far 
off.  To  accomplish  this  we  must  all  work  ener- 
getically. The  people  themselves,  possessed  once 
more  with  the  full  consciousness  of  their  rights, 
will  enjoin  the  reform  of  the  Church  on  those  in 
high  places;  and  the  first  institution  to  be  abol- 


326     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

ished  will  be   that  fiction  and  disgrace   of  the 
Church  of  Christ  called  '  political  papacy.'  " 


Now  it  seems  to  me  to  be  as  clear  as  daylight 
that  if  we  want  to  take  any  interest  whatever  in 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  Italy,  or  if  we  wish  to 
cherish  the  idea  of  a  new  communion  of  spirit  and 
love  with  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church  also,  in  a 
time  such  as  ours  when  the  atmosphere  is  satu- 
rated with  the  preoccupation  of  reuniting  the 
churches,  even  those  furthest  apart  from  each 
other,  our  sympathies  ought  to  go  out  not  to  the 
official  Vatican,  not  towards  the  Curia,  which  are 
the  negation  of  Christianity,  but  towards  those 
struggling  modernists,  who  are  fighting  the  Curia 
and  the  Vatican  in  the  name  of  Christianity,  so 
as  to  free  their  Church  from  a  bondage  that  has 
become  unbearable,  and  to  bring  her  back  into  the 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  her  free. 

When,  in  preparing  this  chapter,  I  arrived  at 
this  point,  an  idea  struck  me:  I  wrote  to  three 
modernists,  one  in  the  north  of  Italy,  one  in  the 
centre,  and  one  in  the  south.  I  chose  three  repre- 
sentative men  in  order  that  their  answer  might 
not  be  the  voice  of  one  individual,  but  of  hun- 
dreds and  hundreds  of  Italian  priests  and  friars. 


Modernism  327 

I  put  to  them  a  very  simple  question.  I  said: 
uIam  going  to  the  United  States.  To  the  breth- 
ren beyond  the  ocean  I  shall  speak  of  you  and  of 
your  ideal.  Give  me  a  message  for  them.  A  short 
message,  but  to  the  point;  a  message  that  I  may 
say  is  one  coming  from  the  very  heart  of  Italian 
modernism." 

The  man  from  the  north,  a  priest,  answered : 
M  You  know  what  modernism  is  aiming  at,  as 
well  as  we  do.  Put  our  aim  clearly  before  their 
eyes.  Do  your  best  to  persuade  them  that  we  are 
not  either  hypercritics,  or  destroyers  of  Christian- 
ity, or  rebels  against  the  Church  of  our  Fathers. 
We  are  Christians,  believers  in  the  revelation  God 
has  made  of  Himself  in  several  ways,  and  finally 
and  completely  through  Christ;  we  want  the  in- 
spired document  of  that  revelation,  the  Bible,  to 
become  again  the  unshaken  basis  of  our  belief  and 
of  our  morals ;  we  want  the  Church  of  Rome,  winch 
once  upon  a  time  was  Christian  and  is  now  the 
corrupt  and  worldly  church  of  the  Vatican,  to 
become  again  a  true  branch  of  the  great  Church 
of  Christ.  Tell  our  Christian  brethren  beyond 
the  ocean  that  we  expect  their  earnest  prayers, 
their  brotherly  sympathy. " 

The  man  from  central  Italy,  also  a  priest,  was 
ill  when  he  received  my  letter.    He  wrote  thus : 


328     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

1 '  I  cannot  write  you  a  long  letter.  I  am  in  ill 
health  and  am  writing  to  you  from  my  bed.  Just 
a  word,  then.  Tell  our  American  brethren  this 
only,  in  our  name :  There  are  in  Italy  thousands 
and  thousands  of  priests,  friars,  seminarists,  in  a 
condition  of  terrible  spiritual  bondage.  They  are 
longing  for  freedom,  they  are  righting  to  the  death 
for  their  deliverance.  The  American  brethren  who 
are  interested  in  the  establishment  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  in  Italy,  must  choose  between  the 
oppressors  and  the  oppressed.  Is  it  possible  that 
free  America  will  ever  waste  her  sympathy  on  our 
spiritual  tyrants?  " 

The  man  from  the  south,  a  layman  of  great 
influence  in  modernist  circles  in  the  southern 
provinces  of  Italy,  sent  me  the  following  address 
to  you : 

"  Brethren,  what  we  want  is  this:  We  believe 
in  God,  in  Christ  as  our  Saviour  and  the  Saviour 
of  humanity,  in  the  omnipotent  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  We  accept  as  divine  the  substance  of 
Christianity  as  set  forth  by  the  Gospel  and  by  an- 
cient tradition,  and  therefore  we  fight  against 
everything  which  man  has  added,  and  which  is  a 
hindrance  to  the  spiritual  progress  of  humanity. 
We  fight,  that  is  to  say,  against  all  errors  and 
abuses  of  the  Church,  and,  above  all,  against  the 


Modernism  329 

sectarian  and  domineering  spirit  of  the  Curia, 
against  the  trade  in  sacred  things,  the  materialisa- 
tion of  religion  into  a  form  that  no  longer  reaches 
the  soul,  no  longer  educates  and  sanctifies,  but 
lulls  the  conscience  to  sleep  in  a  kind  of  morbid 
piety,  which  reduces  it  to  a  most  dangerous  and 
false  state.  This  condition  of  things  cannot  and 
must  not  last,  if  the  Church  herself  and  society 
are  to  be  saved.  And  the  first  to  lift  up  their 
voices  for  the  Church  must  be  the  children  of  the 
Church,  just  as  in  all  times  the  voices  of  the  saints 
were  the  first  that  rose  up  against  the  abuses  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Church.  Our  protest  is  inspired 
not  by  hatred,  but  by  love,  and  it  cannot  remain 
unfruitful ;  it  is  meant  to  shake  men  in  high  and 
low  condition,  but,  above  all,  it  is  meant  to  pre- 
pare a  new  Italian  conscience,  the  really  Christian 
conscience  of  the  land.  Brethren,  you  who,  carry- 
ing the  banner  of  freedom  and  civilisation,  are  in 
the  vanguard  in  the  triumphal  march  of  modern 
nations,  will  you  not  sympathise  with  us  in  our 
great  undertaking?  " 

I  have  delivered  the  messages  of  my  friends. 
Let  them  not,  I  beg  of  you,  be  delivered  in  vain. 


Will  the  modernists  ever  succeed  in  their  ef- 


330     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

forts  ?  Will  the  world  ever  witness  the  realisation 
of  their  ideal!  Will  the  Church  so  dear  to  their 
hearts,  the  Church  which  they  think  responds  best 
to  the  genius  and  temperament  of  the  Latin  races, 
the  historical  Church,  with  her  episcopal  ritual, 
her  strong  ecclesiastical  organisation,  her  glori- 
ous traditions,  her  majestic  cathedrals,  ever  be 
inspired  anew  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  con- 
secrated again  to  God  and  to  His  worship  "  in 
spirit  and  in  truth  ' '  ? 

To  be  a  prophet  is  always  a  difficult  undertak- 
ing; but  in  this  case  to  prophesy  is  more  difficult 
than  ever.  Nevertheless  prophets  and  prophecies 
concerning  the  religious  future  of  Italy  are  not 
wanting. 

Two  I  will  mention  as  among  the  most  im- 
portant. 

Leone  Caetani,  in  the  momentous  pamphlet  I 
have  already  twice  alluded  to,25  has  a  vision  of  the 
future,  which  is  also  that  of  many  noble-minded 
Italians.  Let  me  try  to  sum  up  his  idea  in  few 
words :  We  must  distinguish  between  religion  and 
religious  sentiment.  Eeligion  is  the  outward 
form,  the  fleeting  phenomenon,  perpetually  chang- 
ing according  to  the  times,  places,  and  conditions 
of  civilisation  among  the  various  branches  cf  the 

25  Vide  notes  3  and  22. 


Modernism  331 

human  race ;  religious  sentiment,  instead,  is  a  uni- 
versal,   immanent,    fundamental,    indestructible 
phenomenon  of  the  human  soul.    Now,  religions 
controlled  by  the  clergy  with  rites  and  dogmas 
are  social  phenomena  which,  although  they  are 
long-lived,    are    doomed   in   time    to    disappear. 
Clergy,  rites,  and  dogma  were  once  upon  a  time 
necessary  to  human  society,  in  the  same  way  as 
despotic  monarchy.    Humanity,  in  her  moral  in- 
fancy, needed  special  moral  support  to  enable  her 
to  establish  herself  as  a  strong  social  organisation ; 
now  she  steers  herself  towards  religious  concep- 
tions which  are  purely  individual  and  subjective, 
free  from  all  ritualistic  ties,  from  all  ecclesiastical 
laws,  and  from  all  sacerdotal  interference.    The 
social  movement  of  our  day  opposes  the  principle 
of  authority,  and  is  widespread  in  schools,  in  ad- 
ministrations, in  the  family,  in  the  Church,  and 
even  in  the  army.    Nothing  can  stop  it.    Society 
aims  at  a  far  superior  equilibrium  than  that  of 
the  past ;  an  equilibrium  grounded  on  respect  for 
other  people's  rights,  in  order  to  obtain  respect 
for  its  own.    The  religion  of  the  future  must  as- 
sume that  fundamental  characteristic;  only  by  do- 
ing so  will  it  become  a  high  moral  discipline.    In  a 
word :  the  religion  of  the  future  will  have  only  one 
law:  the  inner  will  of  every  single  individual;  and 


332     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

one  constant  rule:  respect  for  other  people's  opin- 
ions and  rights.  In  the  new  order  of  things  the 
Church  of  Borne  will  be  reduced  to  the  condition 
of  an  innocuous  sect  of  conservatives,  without 
followers  and  without  prestige.  All  the  anti- 
religious  manifestations  of  the  societies  which  we 
see  springing  up  around  us  will  die,  for  they 
are  nothing  but  the  result  of  the  great  power 
which  the  Church  of  Eome  still  possesses.  "When 
the  cause  is  dead,  the  effects  will  necessarily  die 
also.26 

Such  is  Caetani's  revolutionary  conception;  a 
vision  possessing  true  and  false  elements.  The 
vision  is  true  inasmuch  as  it  admits  the  indestruc- 
tibility of  religious  sentiment  in  man,  but  it  is  ab- 
solutely false  when  it  exaggerates  religious  indi- 
vidualism. The  Spirit  of  Christ,  when  really  at 
work,  instead  of  isolating  those  whom  it  inspires, 
aims  at  uniting  them  and  binding  them  together 
in  a  great  common  cause :  that  of  the  triumph  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God :  the  triumph  of  Goodness  in 
the  life  of  humanity.  It  is  true  that  the  Church 
of  Eome,  as  she  is  now,  is  nothing  but  a  political 
organisation  and,  therefore,   a  creation  of  the 


28  Leone  Caetani,  M.P. :  La  crisi  morale  dell'  ora  presenter 
religione,  modernismo  e  democrazia.  Roma,  1911.  Vide  pp. 
46,  48,  49,  52. 


Modernism  333 

spirit  of  the  world.  But  that  does  not  render  less 
true  the  other  fact  that  there  exists  a  legitimate 
collectivism  created  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The 
Pentecostal  Spirit  that  filled  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  in  the  "  upper  room,''  created  at  the  same 
time  the  Church.  It  is  in  the  very  nature  of  the 
Spirit  to  act  in  this  wise.  If  it  is  true  that  the 
Spirit  sanctifies  individuals,  it  sanctifies  them  in 
order  that  they  may  form  a  spiritual  body.  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  not  a  spirit  of  egoism;  it  is  a 
spirit  of  brotherhood. 

The  second  vision  I  alluded  to,  I  may  call: 
"  The  vision  of  the  final  triumph  of  modernism.' ' 
It  has  recently  found  expression  in  a  novel  en- 
titled: When  We  (the  Eoman  Catholic  Church) 
Will  Not  Die  (Quando  non  morremo),  written 
by  Mario  Palmarini.27  The  novel  has  had  a  great 
success,  helped  by  the  fact  that  a  few  days  after 
it  had  been  issued,  the  Curia  censured  it  and 
placed  it  on  the  Index;  for  this  is  the  way 
people  reason  in  Italy  nowadays:  The  books 
which  the  Church  censures  are  always  good; 
such  and  such  a  book  has  been  censured  by 
the  Church,  therefore  it  is  good;  let  us  buy  and 
read  it. 

27  Mario  Palmarini:  Quando  non  morrcmo.  Romanzo  eroico. 
Dutt.  Rioeardo  Quientieri,  editore.     Milano:  Novembre,  1911. 


334     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

The  novel  depicts  things  as  they  will  be  about 
fifty  years  hence.  Pius  X,  dead;  Leo  XIV,  his 
successor,  also  dead;  but,  before  dying,  he  has 
completely  ruined  the  Church.  Meanwhile  mod- 
ernism has  continued  its  work  steadfastly,  has 
invaded  the  Vatican  and  has  conquered  the  greater 
number  of  the  cardinals.28  The  heads  of  the 
movement  have  their  eyes  on  a  cardinal,  Father 
Silvester  from  Fermo  (Marca  of  Ancona),  a  mod- 
ernist, a  large-hearted  man,  living  a  truly  simple, 
apostolic  life.  The  conclave  meet  to  elect  the  new 
Pope,  and  Father  Silvester  is  elected  by  a  large 
majority.    He  assumes  the  name  of  Peter  II.    The 

28  The  idea  is  not,  after  all,  so  absurd  as  it  looks  at  first  sight. 
Here  is  what  Leone  Caetani  wrote  in  1911,  in  the  pamphlet  al- 
ready quoted  in  notes  3,  22,  25,  26 :  "  One  of  the  reasons  why- 
Pius  X  has  not  convened  the  Consistory  and  for  three  years  has 
not  created  new '  Cardinals,  is  because  he  has  for  some  time 
found  it  morally  impossible  to  get  out  of  the  following  difficulty: 
Of  the  eligible  '  Monsignori '  the  most  intelligent  are  more  or 
less  modernists;  and  the  non-modernists  are  such  moral  and  in- 
tellectual nonentities  as  to  make  their  promotion  impossible. 
The  latter  would  compromise  everything  in  one  sense,  as  the 
former  would  in  another.  Pius  X,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  and 
preferring  to  leave  unchanged  the  colour,  or  status,  of  the  Sacred 
College,  decided  to  take  no  action  in  the  matter  of  the  election 
of  Cardinals  for  more  than  three  years.  If  he  has  now  (Autumn, 
1911)  determined  to  fill  the  vacant  chairs  in  the  Sacred  College, 
it  is  because  he  has  been  compelled  to  do  so  by  imperious  ex- 
igencies. The  names  in  his  list  reveal  that  of  the  two  evils  he 
has  chosen  the  greater,  inasmuch  as  he  has  thrown  himself  com- 
pletely into  the  arms  of  the  orthodox  reaction." 


Modernism  335 

new  Pope  writes  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Italy 
throbbing  with  patriotism  and  deep  spirituality. 
He  leaves  the  Vatican  and  takes  up  his  residence 
at  Castle  Gandolfo.  He  is  often  to  be  seen  driving 
through  Rome  in  his  beautiful  white  motor-car; 
and  on  the  2d  of  June,  the  great  Italian  national 
festival,  with  his  face  turned  towards  the  colossal 
statue  of  the  first  King  of  Italy,  the  King  of  the 
revolution,  he  blesses  the  huge  crowd  in  Piazza 
Venezia.  On  the  20th  September,  the  date  of  the 
first  entry  of  the  Italian  troops  into  Rome,  and, 
therefore,  of  the  fall  of  the  Pope's  temporal 
power,  he  orders  the  national  flag  to  be  hoisted 
over  Castel  Gandolfo;  and  to  the  astonishment  and 
admiration  of  the  whole  world,  he  purifies  the 
Church  from  all  old  and  new  superstitions,  directs 
the  thoughts  of  the  clergy  into  new  and  modern 
paths,  and  places  the  consciences  of  believers  in 
harmony  with  the  teaching  of  Christ.  The  im- 
pression caused  by  this  revolution  is  so  deep,  that 
Protestant  nations  return  to  the  fold,  and  the 
most  rabid  enemies  of  Christianity  end  by  de- 
claring themselves  won,  and  unite  their  ener- 
gies to  those  of  Peter  II  and  of  the  renovated 
Church,  to  work  with  them  for  the  welfare  of 
humanity. 

Palmarini's  vision,  too,  has  its  weak  points.    It 


336     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

is  not  necessary  to  say  that  the  colours  are  too 
vivid,  even  more  so  than  what  may  be  admitted  in 
a  book  such  as  this  which  is  a  battle-cry,  in  a 
novel  that  the  author  himself  has  called  "  heroic.' ' 
But  the  weakest  point  of  the  book  lies  in  the  Chris- 
tianity professed  by  Peter  II.  He  is  not  a  Chris- 
tian; he  is  a  pantheist;  and  his  reform  is  to  be 
carried  out  by  love,  but  a  love  which  is  not  a  reflec- 
tion of  the  love  of  God  in  man,  or  a  creation  of 
the  Spirit,  but  simply  what  our  poor  human  love 
can  be.  Now  what  radical  reform  can  ever  be 
expected  from  a  love  such  as  that  in  a  ruined 
Church  like  the  Church  of  Rome? 

Yet,  notwithstanding  the  many  and  great  short- 
comings of  the  book,  I  trust  that  the  reform  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  will  more  or  less  be  carried  out 
on  the  lines  pointed  out  by  Palmarini.  Let  mod- 
ernism persevere  in  its  work  of  infiltration,  let 
it  become  more  and  more  ' '  Christo-centric  ' '  in 
its  belief,  in  its  aspirations,  in  its  programme ;  let 
it  organise  itself  in  such  a  way  as  to  envelop  the 
whole  Church  in  a  solid  network  such  as  that  with 
which  the  "  Carboneria  "  enveloped  the  States  of 
Italy  at  the  time  of  foreign  bondage;  let  it  con- 
tinue to  win  the  confidence  of  the  best  part  of  the 
laity;  let  the  Protestant  churches  of  Italy  come  to 
understand  the  solemnity  of  the  present  hour  and 


Modernism  337 

resolve  to  help  from  without  the  work  which  the 
modernists  are  accomplishing  from  within;  and 
on   that   day  in   which   God   gives    the    historic 
Church  of  Rome  a  truly  apostolic  Peter  II,  a 
Peter  far  different  from  that  of  Mario  Palmarini, 
you  will  then  witness  extraordinary  things.    What 
harm,  I  ask,  would  there  be  in  having  in  our  Latin 
race  a  truly  Christian  Episcopal  Church  working 
hand  in  hand  with  the  other  evangelical  churches 
in  view  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  redemption  of 
Italy?     And  even  if  the  form  of  the  Christian 
Church  more  congenial  to  the  nature  of  the  Latin 
race  were  to  be  Episcopal  and  not  Presbyterian 
or  Congregationalist  as  we  have  perhaps  some- 
times   fancied,    should    we   on    that    account   be 
grieved?    After  all,  which  of  the  great  forms  as- 
sumed by  ecclesiastical  organisations  has  been 
justified  and  which  condemned  by  the  teaching 
of  Jesus?    Are  there  not  perhaps  Presbyterians 
as  clerical  as  the  Pope  himself?    Are  there  not 
perhaps  Episcopalians  as  humble  as  the  humblest 
of  Presbyterians?    Do  we  not  find  Congregation- 
alists  with  such  a  catholicity  of  spirit  as  is  seldom 
displayed   by   Presbyterians    or   Episcopalians? 
Let  us  learn  from  Jesus;  let  us  not  concern  our- 
selves  with  forms;  let  us  not  expect  the  Spirit 
to  shape  itself  according  to  our  mould,  but  let 


338     The  Struggle  for  Christian  Truth  in  Italy 

us  rather  concern  ourselves  with  the  Spirit  and 
leave  the  Spirit  itself  to  create  the  forms  that  will 
best  serve  the  nature  and  genius  of  the  nations 
which  Christ  has  come  to  redeem. 


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